


Who Says You Can’t Go Home Again

by WindInYourSail



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-20
Updated: 2018-06-25
Packaged: 2019-05-26 01:45:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 34,886
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14990078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WindInYourSail/pseuds/WindInYourSail
Summary: Eleanor moved back to New York to be closer to her family. Her work kept her pretty busy so a relationship was the last thing she expected when she met up with her childhood friend less than a month after moving home.





	1. Chapter One

After fifteen years away, Eleanor was happy to be back in New York. It was where she grew up so she had visited family over the years but actually living in the city was something she had missed deeply. Once she got settled in she contacted her childhood friend Sonny. “Carisi.” Sonny said, answering his phone. “Hey Sonny!” She replied. “Elle! Damn it’s good to hear your voice.” It would never matter how long they went without talking, as soon as they spoke it was like no time had passed. 

"So, Sonny how's life been treating you? How is working at SVU? Did I hear that you were going to law school at night?" She was proud of the person he was turning into. "Great Elle, things are great. Want about you? How’s Quantico?” He asked. “Quantico is good, I’m not there anymore but it’s good.” She smiled even though he couldn’t see. “What? Where are you now?” He asked. “New York.” She said. “How long will you be visiting?” He asked. “Indefinitely.” She replied. “You’re back?” Sonny sounded excited now. “I am.” She said. “You’re back, back. I’m mean you moved back?” He asked. “Yep. My transfer was approved a little less than a month ago.” She smiled, happy to finally share the news with her friend. “That’s the best news I’ve heard all day and we won in court today.” Eleanor could tell Sonny was smiling. “Glad I could trump your court win.” She teased. “Me and the squad are going out tonight to celebrate our win, please tell me you can come?" Sonny pleaded. "Actually, I believe I can. It's Friday, I had a smooth start at my new job this week and I'm pretty much unpacked and settled. Celebrating with you would be the perfect end to a pretty perfect week. Just tell me when and where." She was excited to see her friend and meet the people he talked non-stop about. "We'll be at Murphy's, it's a little pub two blocks from the precinct, we should be there by six thirty." Sonny could barely hide his excitement. "Great I can't wait! See you tonight." She said before hanging up the phone. 

\---

It was six and Eleanor was still working. Her new team had been working on an abduction case before she transferred and a new girl that fit the victimology had been reported missing late that afternoon. Eleanor was compiling new data points and making good progress but still had a bit more data to enter before she could start her algorithms running over night.

She texted Sonny.

Eleanor: Hey sorry but I'll be a little late. I have at least thirty more minutes of work before I can head your way.

Sonny: No worries. Get there when you can. We'll be there a while. We haven't even left the station yet. 

Eleanor: Perfect. 

So much for thirty minutes. It was now six forty five but she was finally done. Thankfully she had worn a cute skirt a top today because she didn't want to waste time running by her apartment to change. She grabbed her purse, touched up her make in the bathroom, and headed out the door to hail a cab. 

Once in the cab, she texted Sonny.

Eleanor: Fifteen minute away.

Sonny: Great! We just got here twenty minutes ago.

\---

Eleanor walked into the dimly lit bar and headed to the corner she heard Sonny's voice coming from. He was with a small group, some standing playing darts and others sitting at a table. "Hey Sonny." She reached up to tap his shoulder. He turned around and gave her the biggest hug, leaning back and lifting her off the ground. "Stop! Sonny put me down! Seriously, we're not in high school anymore!" She was giggling as she yelled at him. "Sorry Elle." He put her down and pulled her into his side by her shoulder messing her hair as he did. "Everyone, this is my oldest friend Eleanor. She just moved back after deciding New York was finally good enough for her again."

"Hey, that's not fair! You know New York has always been my home, just opportunity lay elsewhere." She was a little hurt by his comment. "I'm only kidding Elle. Let me introduce you." He started pointing at the various people surrounding him, "This is Liv, Tucker, Rollins, Fin, Amaro and Barba." Her eyes lingered on Barba for a moment. There was something about him, the way he leaned against that support beam, that suit, those intense eyes, his dark hair. She looked away when Rollins spoke. "So you two seem pretty close, were you ever an item?" Sonny answered. "God no! That would be like dating my sister." Eleanor smiled, adding. “He's actually more overprotective than my actual brother." 

Eleanor glanced back at Barba. He was looking at her, making direct eye contact. She noticed the smirk on his face when she quickly looked away. "Is there a waitress or are we just going to the bar?" She ask Sonny. "The bar." He said. "Ok, I'm going to get a drink, you need anything?" She asked. "Yeah, I'll take another beer, thanks." He replied. "Okay, be right back." As she turned to head for the bar Barba walked up beside her. "I'll go with you, I need a refill." "So, I take it Barba is your last name?" She smiled at him feeling somewhat like an idiot. "Yes." He had that damn smirk on his face again.

Amaro walked over to Sonny as Eleanor and Barba headed to the bar. "Your friend, Elle, there's nothin between you two?" He asks. "No, but don't even think about it. She wasn't kidding when she said I was an overprotective brother type. She's off limits." Sonny responded. "Ok, just asking. She's hot though. I won't pursue but hey, if she's interested, let me know." Sonny just glared at him.

Barba leaned on the bar to order. "Scotch, another beer for Carisi over there, and" he looked to Eleanor, "what do you want?" "Dirty Vodka Martini." She replied. The bartender left to get the drinks. "So, you're Carisi's oldest friend? How have you put up with him for so many years?" He said, Eleanor noticed the crinkles by his eyes giving away his amusement with himself. She leaned closer to him. "You have to admit he grows on you after a while." She saw the corners of his mouth turn up to smile briefly so she added. "Fifteen years away from him didn't hurt either." He tilted his head to the side and looked up at her with an amused smile on his face. She smirked back. The bartender returned with their drinks and he pulled out cash before Eleanor could get to her purse. "I got this." He said as he picked up his and Carisi's drinks. "Thanks" She said picking up hers and following him back to the group.

The group had sat down at a table near the dart boards but had left two seats open next to each other that Barba and Eleanor took. As they sat down Barba handed Sonny his beer. "So Elle, what took you away from New York for so long?" Liv asked. "School then work." She replied. "What school?" Barba asked. "I studied applied mathematics at MIT for undergrad and graduate school focusing on data points and patterns. Then I got my doctorate in applied mathematics from Harvard.” She answered. “Really? What was your dissertation on?” He asked. “I focused on how mathematical patterns, given specific data, could help law enforcement track and locate criminals." She looked around the table and could tell her response was not quite what they were expecting.

"What kind of work do you do?" Fin asked. "I worked for the FBI in Quantico, for the last six years but ask to be transferred back to New York to be closer to family. I'm currently working at the FBI headquarters here." She replied. "You're an FBI agent?" Barba asked a bit surprised. "Don't let my size fool you, I'm well trained." She smiled. Sonny piped in, "She's trained as a field agent and in micro... what are they Elle? Micro something." "Micro expressions. I can tell so much about a person just from watching how their face responds when they are asked questions. Whether they are lying, agitated, aroused... it's not admissible in court but it has it's purpose." She looked back around the table again and chuckled to herself. "Don't worry. I don't use my powers out of the interrogation room." Not maliciously anyway, she though. The group relaxed a bit. 

"You mean you've never taken advantage of your talent with a boyfriend or some guy at a bar?" Amaro asked. "Not someone I trusted, but I can't say I haven't used it while at the bar. There are a lot of creepers out there, you guys know that as well as I do. I'm good at reading people. I take advantage of that as a single women." She smiled as she felt Barba's hand gently brush against her thigh. "So what do you guys do? Are you all detectives?" Fin answered. "Liv's our lieutenant, Rollins, Carisi, Amaro, and I are detectives at SVU. Tucker here works at IAB and Barba over there is our ADA."

Liv looked at her watch, "I'm sorry to cut out so early but my sitter has plans this evening so I need to go relieve her." Tucker got up with her. "It was nice meeting you Elle." "You too." Eleanor said as they left the table and headed toward the exit.

Rollins stood up. "Carisi come play darts with me before it gets too late and I have to head home too." "Fine, Amaro come join us, we can play teams. Elle you wanna play?" Sonny asked. "I think I'll sit and watch from here. You know I'm terrible at darts." She replied. "Barba?" Sonny asked. Eleanor discreetly ran a finger down the outside of Barba's thigh as she reached down to pick up her purse. "No, I'll watch too. Fin why don't you join them." Barba said without taking his eyes from the group about to play darts. "Fine." Fin muttered as he got up.

Amaro whispered to Sonny. "You trust Barba to be alone with Elle." "Pretty much." Sonny replied. "I mean it's Barba. All he does is work. I've never known him to date anyone. You on the other hand have hooked up with half the girls in Manhattan." "Hey." Rollins scoffed. "What, you want him hitting on her?" Sonny asked knowingly. "Point taken." Rollins replied. "Ok lets get this game going. Fin you and me against the pretty boys."

A waitress stopped by the table and Barba ordered them another round of drinks. "You're an FBI agent?" He asked again seeming to not believe it. She put her purse on the table and began to reach inside. "Would you like to see my badge?" She asked somewhat amused. "Actually, I would." He smirked. She pulled out her badge and credentials and handed them to him. He looked them over before handing them back. "You're so tiny though. I'm not what you would call tall and I have at least five inches on you." She laughed. "Believe me, I've been trained by the best and can handle myself pretty well. You may have five inches on me but I bet I could still pin you down." 

He cocked his head to the side and looked at her with that damn smirk on his face again. "I might like that." "I don't think it's fair of you to flirt with me if I don't get to know your first name." She said. He thought for a minute. "So I can continue to flirt with you if I tell you my first name?" "I may even flirt back." She winked. "I think you're already flirting back. You did run your finger down my thigh to ensure I wouldn't get up to play darts." He picked up his drink to take a sip. She saw the edges of his lips curl up. "Fine. Perhaps I'll go join Sonny and their dart game. Maybe call it an early night." She playfully started to stand up. "Wait." He said lightly pulling her back down to her chair. "It's Rafael." "Rafael Barba." She said smiling, it had a nice ring to it. "So, Miss Eleanor, do you have a last name?" He was smirking again. "That's Dr. Eleanor." She smiled "and it's Calhoun." "Any relation to a Rita Calhoun?" He asked, lifting an eyebrow. "I have a cousin named Rita." She smiled. "Is she a lawyer?" He asked. "Yes." She replied, then she leaned in a bit, "but don't worry she's a bit older than me and were not that close."

He hesitated slightly before asking. "How old are you?" She eyed him. "Are you worried about an age difference?" Then rested her hand on his thigh, "because I'm not." He relaxed a bit, "I'd still like to know." "Thirty-three." She replied. Relief spread across his face. "I thought you were so much younger. You look like you're in your mid twenties." He smiled. "I've always looked younger than I am." She looked at him and smirked, "How old are you, Rafael Barba?" He smiled when she said his full name. "Forty." "How young did you think I was when I graduated from high school knowing I have a Phd and worked at Quantico for six years?" She asked, furrowing her brow slightly. "I didn't even think. You even said you'd been gone for fifteen years." He smirked again "I'm usually more observant than that."

The waitress came over, "You two want another round?" Barba looks at their almost empty drinks and nods. Rollins, Amaro, Fin, and Carisi walked back over to the table. Rollins picked up her purse. "Hey it was real nice meeting you, Elle, but I gotta get home." She looked back at Fin, "Fin, walk me out?" "Yeah, I should be heading out too. See you guys later." Fin said following Rollins out. Amaro checked his watch, "I need to head out too, my daughter has a soccer game in the morning." "Bye, it was nice meeting you guys." Eleanor said as they left.

Carisi sat down across from Eleanor and Barba at the table. "Elle, you want me to take you home? I can crash on your couch and get myself home in the morning." "I'm not quite ready to leave yet. We didn't know everyone was heading out so soon and ordered another round. You look beat though. Go ahead and head home, I'll be fine, it's not like I've never been out in New York City before." She smiled at him. "Are you sure? I don't mind staying." Carisi said, yawning. "Go, I'm good. Don't worry so much." She reached across the table and placed her hand on his. Their drinks show up as Carisi stood to leave. "Hey Barba, you have that car service picking you up?" "Yes." He replied. "Can you get her home? Don't let her take a cab." Sonny scrunched up his face. "I can handle that." Barba replied fighting back a smile. Carisi walked around the table to give Eleanor a hug goodbye. "Alright, goodnight Elle. Night Barba. You two be safe." Eleanor returned Sonny’s hug, "Always my protector. Goodnight Sonny." 

As soon as he exited the bar Eleanor looked back at Barba and smiled. "You're going to be trouble aren't you?" He asked as he took a drink. She smiled, "I have no idea what you are talking about." "I'm sure you don't." He said as he put his hand on top of the hand she had resting on his thigh.

\---

Barba's town car pulled up. "What's you're address?" He asked as they scooted inside. "106th and Manhattan Avenue." She replied. He told the driver and looked back at her. "You live two blocks from me." "Really? That's convenient." She said smiling. "Very." He said, his hand on her thigh just breaching the the bottom of her skirt. He leaned closer to her. She reached her hand to the back of his neck and gently ran her fingers into his hair. He ran his tongue softly over his bottom lip as she inched closer to press her lips against his.

He pulled her on top of him so that she was straddling him. He moved his hands along her sides to her lower back as they made out like teenagers. When they pulled up to her building she moved off his lap and sat next to him panting. "I'm not typically in the habit of bringing people I just met home with me, but I'm willing to make an exception with you." She said as she looked at him, her breathing still labored. He smiled. "Like I said, trouble." She grabbed his hand and began scooting out of the car. Barba looked at the driver and smiled. "Goodnight Carl." "Goodnight Mr. Barba." Carl responded with a smirk on his face.

She held his hand as she guided him up the elevator, down the hall, and into her apartment. She locked the door behind them and kicked off her shoes. He put his arms around her waist and pulled her to him. "Now where were we." He said smiling and leaning in to kiss her again. She started walking him backwards toward her bedroom. Once inside her room she tossed her purse onto a chair and took off his suit jacket tossing it in the same chair. He pulled her face back toward his gently to kiss her again. She reached down to unfasten his pants, reaching inside to feel him. He was hard and gave a slight moan when she found him.

He started to remove his suspenders but she stopped him. She pulled back from their kiss just slightly, "No, leave them on for now." He lifted one eyebrow causing her to smile and give his suspenders a slight tug, pulling him back toward her lips. She had started to make her way down to her knees when her phone rang. She stood up quickly, Barba groaned. She stepped away from him. "Just a sec, I promise." She said smiling. "Who is calling you at this hour?" He asked sounding slightly annoyed. "It's Sonny, he just wants to make sure I got home ok, now shhhh." She put her finger to his lips as she answered. "Hey Sonny. Yes, I'm home. No not at Barba's." She winked at Barba. "Yes, I'm sure. Home safe and sound. Sonny, seriously it's late and I am fully capable of taking care of myself. Yes, next time I'll text you when I get home from the bar. Ok, Sonny. Ok. Ok. Goodnight." She hung up the phone, threw it on the chair, and removed her figure from Barba's lips. "Remind me to torture him next week for that." He said smirking as he pulled her back to his lips.

She resumed her kisses down his neck then chest, unbuttoning his shirt as she made her way down. She removed him from his boxer briefs and looked up at him as she placed him in her mouth. When he gently placed his hand on the back of her head she took him in deeper eliciting a deep moan from him. He firmly gripped her hair as her mouth moved expertly on him. She could feel him tensing up when he pulled her back gently by her hair. Biting her lower lip, she looked up at him. “Not yet.” He smirked pulling her to her feet and pressing his lips against hers.

Reaching her hands under his shirt, she pushed both his suspenders and shirt off his shoulders. He helped by tugging at his sleeves as she removed his shirt. Once his suspenders were no longer supporting his slacks, they too fell to the floor. Their kiss briefly broke as he pulled her shirt over her head, tossing it in the floor as their lips met again. His hands resting on her bare sides momentarily before lightly grazing her back as they made their way to unfasten her bra. She walked him backwards toward her bed, his hands cupping her breast, thumbs gently caressing her nipples. 

As he sat down she pulled his undershirt off, his hands then tugging at her panties beneath her skirt. His mouth found her breast as she climbed to straddle him, she moaned as he filled her. Her hands gripped his hair as she rode him, his arms wrapped tight around her. She looked up and arched her back as he adjusted himself beneath her, allowing him to reach deeper inside. Her legs began to quiver as she came. Feeling her tighten around him he picked her up, repositioning her below him and continued to move inside her. The louder she moaned the deeper he seemed to thrust. When she orgasmed a second time she noticed him smirk but he didn’t relent. It wasn’t until she came a third time with a little help from his thumb on her clit that he finally allowed himself release.

They laid there, spent. Arms and limbs entangled, Eleanor with her skirt still on. "My God." She panted. "I take it you enjoyed yourself." He grinned. "I may have to bring you home regularly Mr. Barba." She panted. "I have no objection to that." He smirked. He pulled her closer to him and wrapped his arms around her and kissed her forehead. "You want to go to bed?" She asked. "Sure."

They stood to pull the covers back and he teasingly removed her skirt. Climbing under the covers and he pulled her close to him. She rested her head on his chest. "You've got a thing for my suspenders, huh?" She could tell he was smirking when he asked. "Yes. But you've got a thing for skirts." She looked up at his intense eyes. "You noticed that, huh?" He leaned in and kissed her. “Go to sleep Eleanor.” "Goodnight, Rafael." She replied cuddling closer to him.


	2. Chapter Two

Eleanor awoke to the smell of coffee. She sleepily blinked a few times orientating herself to her surroundings. She still hadn’t fully adjusted to her new apartment and being back in New York. She groggily got out of bed, grabbed a pair of underwear and a shirt, and headed to the bathroom to brush her teeth. As she turned the water on to brush her teeth she heard her bedroom door open. So, he hadn't left, she thought to herself. She opened the bathroom drawer she kept her extra travel supplies in and grabbed an unopened tooth brush. Once she finished brushing her teeth she walked back into her bedroom to find Rafael sitting on the edge of her bed drinking a cup of coffee.

"I made coffee, I hope that's ok." He looked less self assured than he did last night but only slightly. "I brought you a cup and the container of sweetener you had sitting next to the coffee maker. I didn't see creamer or milk." She smiled and tossed him the toothbrush. "Thanks. Milk and I don't get along, so I typically just sweeten my coffee a bit." She sat next to him on the bed and fixed her coffee. "Did you need creamer?" "No, milk doesn't bother me but I don't like it in my coffee." He kissed her check before holding up the toothbrush pretending to be offended. "Is my breath that bad?"

She nearly spit out her first sip of coffee. "No. I'm just a stickler for dental hygiene. It's nothing personal, I just can't stand not brushing my teeth first thing in the morning and assume no one else can either. I travel often with work and have tons of extra toiletries, toothbrushes for example, and thought you might like one." "A stickler for dental hygiene? I'll have to remember that for when you stay over at my place." He looked down as he took another sip of his coffee and she again saw the slightest glimmer of doubt flash across his face. "No need to worry about that." She ran the hand not holding her coffee mug through his hair at the base of his head. "I keep a toothbrush in my purse." He looked at her curiously. She smiled back, "My dad's a dentist."

"I have never met someone as intriguing as you, Dr. Eleanor Calhoun. You have my interest." His intense eyes were locked on hers and his confidence was back with a vengeance. She hadn't noticed his eyes were green in the dark bar last night. For the first time since high school she felt like she had butterflies in her stomach. When he headed to the bathroom to brush his teeth, she followed and leaned on the door frame. "Are you going to observe how skilled I am at brushing my teeth?" He asked as he began brushing.

"Maybe." She winked at his reflection looking at her from the mirror. "No, I was going ask if you wanted breakfast." He rinse and sat his toothbrush in the toothbrush holder next to her sink. He then walked over to her and pressed his lips to hers walking her backwards into her bedroom. She pulled away long enough to set her coffee down on the nightstand before returning to his embrace. He was in his boxer briefs and undershirt and she had only put on panties and a fitted t-shirt when she crawled out of bed. They wasted little time removing the few items of clothing that had found their way on them that morning. She felt the back of her legs bump the edge of the bed so she pulled him down on top of her.

His kisses moved down her neck, to her chest, down her stomach, and then she felt his tongue on her most sensitive spot. It circled and massaged her while she moaned. She ran her right hand through his hair while gripping her sheets with the left. My God he was good at this, she thought. Her back arched as she came and she felt him grab her thighs keeping her still as he continued massaging her with his tongue. He was being gentle now but every touch made her shake and moan until she finally gasped out the words. "Ok. Ok. My God. Ok. Too sensitive." With the last part she gently push on his head as she pulled away.

She laid there panting as he crawled up to lay beside her, kissing her neck and fondling her breast. She could feel his manhood on her back as he pulled her closer to him. She had barely recovered when he lowered himself enough to enter her from their spooning position. His left arm was under her, wrapped around her, holding her right breast. His right arm lightly touched her skin as he ran it down her side, across her stomach, down further, ending its journey on her clit. She draped her right leg over him, opening herself up as he pushed himself deeper inside her. She looked back at him over her shoulder only to have his lips meet her in a passionate kiss. She came again, pulling his hand from her. He continued to push himself in and out of her, moaning as they kissed. His right hand explored her body before returning to where she had removed it. Her moans were louder this time. Feeling him inside her while he touched her felt amazing. "Oh, fuck!" She yelled as she came again, her body spasmed, causing her to push him deeper inside her. He tightened his arms around her and began to move faster. He kissed her neck and the top of her shoulder, moaning, as he allowed himself release.

Eleanor was still laying on his left arm and leaning against his chest but he had released his grip around her and rotated slightly to lay on his back. "You've set a pretty high precedent, Mr. Barba." She said with a smile once she caught her breath. "How's that?" He asked between pants. She pulled herself onto her side next to him so she could look at him while resting her head on her hand. "I have had no less than three orgasms every time we've had sex. I may be disappointed with anything less in future." He smiled and pulled her upper half on top of him for a kiss. "I shouldn't have a problem keeping you satisfied in the future, you know aside from the occasional quickie." He winked. She kissed him again and then rested her head on his chest. "Good to know." She whispered under her breath, mostly to herself.

She felt his hand gently stroke her hair. "Do I remember you saying something about breakfast?" "Yeah. Are you hungry?" She asked. "I am but we may have to run by my apartment for me to get some clean clothes before we go somewhere." He said. She sat up and leaned across him to grab her phone off the night stand. "We can just eat here." She said as she started to look at her phone. He looked up at her curiously. "Unless you have a secret hiding place for your food, all you have is bread and coffee. I looked. I was going to make you breakfast." She looked back at him finding what she was looking for on her phone. "Oh yeah, I don't cook. I barely shop for groceries." She held the phone up so he could see the menu. "I was thinking room service."

He sat up to look at the menu, cocking one eyebrow. "Room service?" "Yes. I'm busy. No time to cook, much less shop for food. You must know what that's like?" He nodded. "One of the major selling factors of this place was it's amenities. There's an hotel in the lower level of the building, the residents get to take advantage of all the amenities the hotel provides, including room service. So pick something, anything, breakfast, lunch, dinner. They cook the full menu twenty-four seven." He pulled her in close to him. "Beautiful woman, amazing sex, room service... we may never leave your apartment." She smiled as she nestled against him. "If only the bills would pay themselves." She joked as he went back to looking at the menu.

"I'll take the Eggs Benedict and an orange juice." He said handing the phone back to her. She pressed the contact She had saved for room service letting it ring on speaker. "Good morning, Dr. Calhoun, your usual?" The worker on the other end answered. "Yes, Jake, but I need an Eggs Benedict as well and an extra glass of orange juice." She said. "No problem, Dr. Calhoun. Give me about thirty minutes and I'll have it up to you." Jake replied. "Thanks, Jake." She said hanging up the phone.

Rafael smiled. "Your usual?" "I told you I don't cook. I get the same breakfast every morning." She climbed out of bed, turned and stretched her hands out toward him, indicating she wanted him to follow. "Where are we going?" He asked, following her out of bed. She grabbed his hand and dragged him into the bathroom. "Food wont be here for thirty minutes and I thought we could spend some of that time in the shower."

\---

After breakfast, Rafael sighed, wrapping his arms around her from behind. "I don't want to leave you, and have this wonderful night end yet." She spun around in his arms looking up at him. "Who says it has to?" "What did you have in mind?" He asked. "Well... I was planning on doing a photo adventure today but we could go to a museum or something instead." She suggested. "A photo adventure?" He was raising his eyebrow again which was quickly becoming one of her favorite of his facial expressions.

"Photography is a hobby of mine. Occasionally, I will pick a destination to go explore and take pictures. Sometimes I'll just walk around the city." She stood on her tip toes and stole a brief kiss before he could respond. He looked around her apartment, noticing the large photo prints hanging for the first time. "Did you take all these?" He walked, pulling away from her to examine them closer. "I did." She replied. "They're beautiful." He said. "Thanks." She said. "So, what do you what to do?" "I'd like to go on one of these photo adventures with you." He smiled.

"Perfect." She kissed him. "Let me get dressed, then we can go to your apartment so you can put on something comfortable to walk in. Oh and I need to stop by work briefly to check on something I left running over night. It wont take long." He nodded and kissed her forehead. She changed into a spaghetti strapped sun dress, put on some ankle socks and her Converse, grabbing her camera bag before they walked the two blocks to his apartment.

\---

Rafael's apartment looked like he copied a page out of a Restoration Hardware catalog. It fit him though. He left Eleanor in the living room while he went to change. She walked around, taking in the personal touches placed throughout the room. She noticed a few small pictures sitting on top of a short bookcase. One was a faded picture of a beautiful woman in her early thirties holding a child that looked suspiciously similar to Rafael and another was of his graduation from Harvard. It had the same woman as the other, clearly older now, standing next to him beaming with pride.

Her attention went to the books on the bookshelf below next. Sure there were law books but what caught her eye was the large collection of Vonnegut books. She sat on the floor pulling A Man Without A Country off the shelf and started thumbing through it. "You want to read now? I thought we were going on a photo adventure?" Rafael had changed into a fitted blue shirt and jeans. He apparently looked good in anything he wore, not just suits. She smiled and closed the book, returning it to his shelf. "You're a Vonnegut fan?" She asked as she walked over to him. "He's one of my favorite authors." He smiled wrapping his arms around her. "Mine too." She said. "I was just flipping through my favorite book while you were changing." "Cats Cradle is my favorite." He said pulling her against him. "Oh, that's a good one too." She smiled. "You ready to go?" "Yes. Carl's waiting downstairs to take us to your work and then we can walk and I'll call him to pick us up when were done. Sound good?" He smiled. "Sounds fantastic." She replied, grabbing her camera bag.

\---

She scanned her badge to get them into FBI headquarters and scanned it a few more times to get through various doors on the path to her desk. Once they reached her desk she moved the mouse around to get the screen to wake up. "Forty percent complete." She muttered to herself. "What are you running?" He asked.

"I've created a few algorithms that given commonalities in specific crimes help narrow down possible suspects, their comfort zones, hunting grounds, pretty much anything we need to know about our investigation. The data I've enter in this one has to do with a case we are working with a serial murderer who abducts his victims, holding them hostage, torturing them for thirteen days, and then kills them. I'm hoping to narrow our list of suspects and his comfort zone to help us find him. Another girl fitting his victimology was reported missing Friday." She said.

"That's amazing." He replied, a bit astonished. "Not the abduction, but the math." "We'll see Monday, hopefully it gets us closer to finding him." She sighed. "How successful are you usually with your formulas?" He asked. "More often than not they're pretty successful. You'd be amazed at how much of your life can be broken down to numbers and patterns. Look at those patterns long enough and I can predict your next move before you've even thought about making it." She smirked. "You ready to go?" "That's all you needed to do?" He asked a bit surprised. "Yep. Just wanted to see how much progress it had made. I'll be up here tomorrow to check on it again." She turned off the little light on her desk and guided them back out of her work.

They wondered around the city while she took pictures of anything an everything. Rafael asked to look at every other picture she took to see the perspective she chose to shoot from, remarking on how he'd never think to look at it that way. They walked through Central Park, taking breaks every so often to sit on a bench and people watch. "It's already seven." Rafael remarked. "Are you getting hungry?" "I could eat." She smiled. "We're not far from a fantastic little Italian restaurant, Silvia's. How does that sound?" He asked. "Lead the way." She replied.

When they walked in the place was packed. "We may have to go somewhere else." She said looking around. He didn't respond, but continued to approach the host. "Awe, Mr. Barba!" A short Italian said happily from behind the desk. "Good evening, Milo." Rafael said. "Two this evening?" Milo smiled looking back at me. "Yes, if possible." Rafael replied. "For you, Mr. Barba, it's no problem." Milo said while picking up two menus and a wine list. "Follow me."

He sat them at a secluded table for two and handed each of them a menu, continuing to hold the wine list. "Your usual wine, Mr. Barba, or do you want to look at the menu?" Rafael looked at Eleanor. "Do you prefer red or white wine?" "Red." She replied. Rafael returned his attention to Milo. "The usual is fine. Thank you." 

"How many restaurants do you get special treatment at?" She asked. "Being an ADA has it's perks." He replied. "I could get used to those perks?" She smiled. Their dinner was amazing. The food, the wine, the conversation. Everything. Rafael split the last of the wine between their glasses before raising his glass. "To one of the best first dates I've ever had." "First date?" She asked coyly. "Unless you have an objection to a second." He replied unwavering in his confidence. "No objection here, just making sure I know where you stand." She smiled and raised her glass. "To the best first date I've ever had." He smiled as they gently tapped their glasses together.

After Rafael paid they climbed in his town car. As soon as Carl began to drive toward Eleanor’s apartment Rafael leaned over and kissed her. He slowly moved his hand up her thigh under her dress as they kissed. She climbed on his lap, straddling him continuing to make out. She pulled back from their embrace. "Mr. Barba, I feel we are repeating a scene from last night." "I'm up for repeating a few scenes from last night if you are." He said as he pulled her back to his lips. "If some scenes from this morning are included, count me in." She said as she leaned her head back so he could kiss her neck and shoulder. She climbed off him when they got to her building, dragging him behind her as she scooted out of the car. "Goodnight Carl." She said on the way out. "Goodnight Elle, goodnight Mr. Barba." Carl replied.


	3. Chapter Three

When Eleanor got to work her computer had finished running the algorithms she had left on Friday. She took her findings to Terry, their resident hacker, to see if she could help narrow down the suspect. "Whatcha got for me?" Terry asked as she walked in her office. "Lots of patterns. I'm hoping we can see if any overlap on a specific person." Eleanor replied. "Ok. Start giving me search criteria." she said.

Eleanor started giving Terry her narrowed down list of possible jobs, home locations, hunting grounds, and so on. "Hold up." Terry stopped typing. "We're down to two possibilities and they are brothers. Gerald Thompson and Richard Thompson. Gerald was picked up by NYPD's SVU unit last night for stalking." "Thanks Terry." Eleanor said as she left to gather the rest of her team.

"AJ, Jeffries, Anderson, Sam, we've got something." Eleanor said as she entered their work area. "What is it Elle?" Paul Jeffries, their team lead asked as the rest of the group walked over. "Terry and I narrowed down possible suspects. The only people left were two brothers, Gerald and Richard Thompson. Gerald was picked up by SVU last night for stalking. It's the best lead we've had in weeks." She said. "Looks like we're heading to SVU." AJ said.

\---

"Is Barba whistling?" Rollins asked in a whisper as she stood next to Amaro leaning on Carisi’s desk. The usually brash ADA had walked through the precinct to Olivia's office whistling a little tune and had an extra hop in his step. Rollins, Amaro, and Carisi looked at each other curiously. "Barba?" Liv said, slightly startled as she opened her door. "You're smiling, why does that scare me?" He grinned slightly larger before relaxing his face. "I have the warrant for Gerald Thompson's DNA." He said handing it to her. "Thanks." She said as she took it from him. "He's in here." She guided Barba to the window in her office that looked into the interrogation room. Barba furrowed his brow in thought. "He hasn't said a word?" "Not one word." She sighed. 

\---

Lieutenant Benson greeted Eleanor’s team when they arrived. "Agent Jeffries. To what do we owe this visit?" She asked noticing Eleanor. "Sorry to intrude on you, Liv. You've picked up a person of interest in a case we've been working. We need to interview him." Jeffries said. "That shouldn't be a problem. Let me introduce you to my detectives." Sonny, Rollins, Amaro, Fin, and Barba joined Liv. "This is Amanda Rollins, Dominick Carisi, Odafin Tutuola or Fin, Nick Amaro, and our ADA Rafael Barba." Eleanor smiled quickly at Barba and he briefly smirked back. They may have spent the weekend together but had agreed to keep their relationship private for now. "Nice to meet you." Jeffries replied. "These are Agents Andrea Johnson or AJ, Tom Anderson, Samantha Drew, Eleanor Calhoun, and I'm Paul Jeffries."

"We have him in interrogation, follow me." Liv said as she guided them to a room looking into the interrogation room. "Hey Sonny." Eleanor said, giving him a little side hug as they walked toward the room. "So, I get to see the big bad FBI agent at work?" Sonny said with a smile. She rolled her eyes and let him enter the room before her. Barba lightly rested his hand on the small of her back as he followed her in, removing it before anyone noticed, he continued to stand close enough that she could smell his scent causing her heart rate to increase.

"What have you guys got on him so far?" Jeffries asked Liv. "Not a lot. He refuses to talk." Liv said. "We arrested him for stalking after the girl he had been following filed a complaint. We found him peeping in her window. The girl also had pictures and had logged all the dates and times she had seen him." "He's not talking?" Jeffries clarified. "Not one word." Rollins replied. 

"Elle, how many places have you narrowed it down to that they might be keeping Rachel?" Jeffries asked looking at Gerald through the glass. "Three." She replied. He turned to look at her. "Let me see the pictures." Eleanor handed them to him. He held up the picture of the warehouse. "This will be one." He held up the picture of the abandoned house. "This will be two." Last he held up the picture of the condemned apartment building. "This will be three. When you figure out which one it is give us the signal, one, two, or three, and we'll go." "Got it." She nodded.

"How is she going to get him to talk?" Amaro asked. "She doesn't need him to talk." AJ answered. "We could use some back up when she figures out the location. You guys in?" Jeffries asked. "Definitely." Rollins replied. "Elle will continue to talk with him even after we leave. Someone will need to stay for her as back up just in case." Jeffries stated. "I'll stay." Carisi replied, grinning at Eleanor. "Always my protector." Eleanor said, smiling at Carisi before walking into the interrogation room. The FBI agents looked at Carisi with curious expressions on their faces. "We're childhood friends. She thinks I'm over protective." He shrugged.

They all watched as Eleanor sat down in front of Gerald Thompson. "Hi Gerald. I'm Eleanor. You have a brother named Richard right?" She asked knowing the answer developing a baseline for his facial response. "Are you close with your brother." Another question she knew the answer to. "Gerald I'm going to show you a few pictures, ok?" No response. She laid the picture of the warehouse down on the table. He looked at it. She looked at him. His face gave no reaction telling her he had no connection to this place. "Here's another picture." She laid the picture of the abandoned house down on the table watching his reaction. Familiarity flashed across his face but not enough of a response to say this is where they were keeping the girl. "Last one, ok Gerald." She laid the picture of the apartment building down on the table. Fear flashed across his face. "Is this were you have Rachel?" She asked. His eye dilated when she said her name. He looked back at the apartment building and then away quickly. Eleanor held three fingers off the edge of the table signaling her team to go. 

As soon as she gave the signal her team and the SVU detectives headed out, leaving Barba and Carisi to watch. "Your brother calls the shots doesn't he?" She asked watching his reaction. "He has since you were kids." After about thirty minutes she exited the interrogation room. She looked at Carisi and Barba staring at her as she walked through the door. She smiled and answered their unasked questions. "He collects the girls for his brother who does the torturing. He gets off on watching. His brother is with Rachel at the apartment building. It's only day four of the thirteen days he keeps them so they should find her alive."

"He never said a word." Barba said. "He didn't have to." Eleanor replied softly. "We can't control our reactions to things. Sure you can prevent yourself from smiling or fake being happy when your not, but you can't suppress the brief micro expressions that cross your face. When looked at by someone trained to read them, that micro expression will give away more information than you'd like it to." "Remind me never to lie to you." Barba smirked. "You? I'm the one whose friends with her. She's going to know all my secrets." Carisi teased. "I already do." She jabbed back.

\---

Liv, Rollins, and AJ had gone to the hospital with Rachel. Everyone else came back to the station with Richard Thompson in custody. "Hey Carisi, go ahead and arrest the brother for this crime too." Fin said as he walked a cuffed Richard Thompson in.

"We found videos of every girl they've abducted." Anderson said before Barba could say something. "Both brothers are on the videos." He popped a video in and pressed play. Barba cringed and looked away. "Get me everything." Barba fumed. "I'll want to get them the max for this." "They've been at this longer than we thought. You're going to bring closure to a lot of families." Sam said resting her hand on Barba's forearm. Barba raised one eyebrow and looked at Eleanor as if to say he didn't want this. She suppressed a giggle.

"Thanks for all your help." Jeffries said to the detectives. "We'll be getting you that case file, Barba. Let us know if you need any of us to testify." He said turning to Barba. Eleanor and her team gathered up their things and headed back to FBI headquarters to start their paperwork. Sam had driven so Eleanor took the opportunity to text Barba.

Eleanor: I know we're both busy tonight and possibly tomorrow but would you like to grab dinner sometime later this week?

Barba: I would. How about Thursday?

Eleanor: That should work for me.

Barba: I'll give you a definitive time when Thursday is a bit closer and I know my schedule better.

Eleanor: It's a date.

Barba: Number two if I'm not mistaken.

She sent him a cartoon picture of herself making a goofy face with the words hubba hubba. This caused him to laugh audibly when he received it. Carisi looked at him. "Something funny, counselor?" Barba suppressed his smile and looked back at the young detective, putting his phone away. "It's nothing. Send that case file my way as soon as you can." He headed out the door and back to his office.


	4. Chapter 4

Barba and Eleanor had been seeing each other for close to three months. They tried to have dinner at least one night during the week but this was hard to do with their schedules. They both often worked late and occasionally Eleanor would have to travel with her job when they'd have to track down a suspect out of state. To make dating doable with their work schedules they set aside every Saturday and Sunday, unless something came up, to spend together. Even if they needed to work. If they could, they would do it together, usually she’d bring paperwork to his office.

It was Saturday around nine in the morning when she placed her order at Starbucks and grabbed a table to wait on her drink to be prepared. She hadn't noticed Nick Amaro sitting in a chair across the room. Nick heard the barista call Eleanor’s name and looked up from his book. He watched as Eleanor picked up her drink and sat back down, picking her book back up. “I know Carisi said she was off limits but there's no harm is saying hello and if something happens from there I'm sure Carisi would eventually get over it,” he thought to himself.

Before he could get up he saw Barba walk in and order a coffee. He decided it would be better to wait for Barba to leave, which shouldn't take too long since he had just ordered a simple coffee that the barista had ready before he finished paying. He watched him add sweetener to his coffee and then instead of leaving he turned and headed toward Eleanor. "What the..." Amaro whispered under his breath as Barba stood next to Eleanor, who was sitting at a high table and pretty much face to face with him. Amaro's mouth fell open as Barba leaned in and kissed her, a kiss she eagerly returned. He swore he saw tongues being swapped briefly.

"Hi Rafi." She said smiling. "You ready?" Barba asked helping her with her bag. "Wow... what do you have in here?" "Hey, we're going to your office, all your crap is already there. If I plan on getting any work done I needed to bring a few things." She replied. Amaro watched, mouth still open, as they left Starbucks. “Turns out Carisi needed to worry about Barba around Elle after all,” he thought to himself.

\---

Eleanor settled in at the small table on the opposite side of Rafael's office from his desk and started to work. He did the same at his desk. His office was large, with floor to ceiling windows that opened up to where his secretary sat. The blinds were closed now. He had four skinny vertical windows that looked out over the busy street four stories below. They had thick curtains pulled to on each side and sheer curtains covering the window, allowing for the light to be diffused as it poured in.

Eleanor stretched and yawned, looking at her watch. "Oh my, it's already four o'clock." She said looking at Rafael. He had been watching her work for a bit at that point. "You want to take a break?" He asked. She got up and walked over to him, maneuvering herself between him and his desk. "What'd you have in mind, counselor?" She smiled when he stood and rested his hands on her hips. "What did I have in mind?" He raised an eyebrow. "I'm pretty sure you're instigating this."

She smiled and pulled his lips toward hers. He lifted her up to sit on the edge of his desk and began kissing her neck while unbuttoning the front of her shirt just enough that he could reach inside. "I'm telling Sonny tonight about you and me." She said. He pulled back slightly to look her in the eyes. "Are you sure?" "Yeah, we're getting serious now and it's only a matter of time before someone sees us somewhere and he finds out that way. It needs to come from me."

She leaned forward for a kiss but he pulled back smiling. "Hey, get back here." She pleaded. He smiled teasingly dodging her kisses. "Are you through talking about Carisi?" "Yes." She replied. "Good, now lets get these pantyhose off?" He said moving his hands down her legs. "No need." She said, lifting her skirt just enough to show the top of her stockings that were connected to a garter belt. "And I'm not wearing any panties." She whispered in his ear.

His eyes lit up. He kissed her again, pulling her close. She reached down to unbutton his pants, feeling him through his boxer briefs then reached in to pull him free. He pulled her to the edge of his desk and wasted no time entering. She wrapped her legs around him and moaned as he filled her. He held her up with one hand and ran the other down her chest, stomach, pulling up her skirt, placing his thumb on her center. He kissed her to stifle her moans, it may have been Saturday but they were far from alone at the DA offices. He came almost immediately after she did. Panting, he wrapped both arms around her pulling her in tight to him while still inside. Once he caught his breath he continued kissing her, lovingly.

His office door swung open. "Shit." He said, pulling out and adjusting himself so he could zip up his pants. "Oh, hey, sorry Rafi. I didn't know you were busy." The intruder said looking Eleanor up and down as she buttoned her shirt. "Alex, man, how long has it been?" Rafael said excitedly as he went to give his old friend a hug. "Too long Rafi." Alex said returning his embrace. "Elle, this is my old friend, Alex Munoz." Rafael said introducing them. "Alex, this is my girlfriend Eleanor." Eleanor stepped from behind the desk, fully dressed, and shook Alex's hand. "Nice to meet you." "Likewise, sorry to interrupt." He winked.

Rafael pulled Eleanor into his lap as he sat back down at his desk chair, inviting Alex to sit in one of the chairs across the desk from them. "What brings you by?" Rafael asked. "The Mayors Gala." Alex said. "I'm sure you know I'm running for mayor and I'd like to extend an invitation to you. I'll make it plus one." "We should be able to make it." Rafael said, giving Eleanor a small squeeze. "Sounds fun." She said, thankful that Rafael couldn't read micro expressions.

"Rafi." Eleanor said softly. "I should probably get going. I need to change before I meet up with Sonny." "Ok. It'll give me some time to catch up with Alex." He gave her a kiss before she got off his lap to gather her things. Once she had gathered her things she walked back over to give him one last kiss good bye. "Call me later and let me know how it went, ok." He said. "Will do." She replied. "It was nice to meet you Alex." She lied. Maybe it was just the lingering look he gave her while she buttoned her shirt but something about this guy gave her the creeps. "You too." Alex said.

As soon as she was out of ear shot Alex looked at Barba and said. "Damn, Rafi! How'd you manage that? What is she like twenty-five?" "No. She thirty-three." Barba smirked. "Don't tell Yelena I said this, but that girl you've got is gorgeous." Alex continued. "And she has sex with you in your office. Damn, Rafi!" "Yeah, next time I'm double checking that the door is locked." Rafael smiled at his good friend.

\---

Sonny knocked on Eleanors door around seven. She answered with wet hair, having just showered and put on her PJ's. "Did you bring the food?" She asked, blocking the door like she wouldn’t let him in without it. “Of coarse.” He said, holding up a bag full of Chinese takeout containers. "Great. I'm starved." She said motioning him into the living room. "Just set the food up on the coffee table." In the back of her mind she saw Barba scowling at the idea of eating in the living room off the coffee table and bit back a smile.

"So, what are you in the mood for?" She asked holding up two movies. "Quinton Tarantino or Danny Boyle?" "Depends."Sonny replied. "Which Tarantino and which Boyle?" "Four Rooms or Sunshine." She replied. "Sunshine. It's been longer since I've seen that one." Sonny said. Eleanor put the movie in before grabbing the remote and sitting next to Sonny on the couch. 

She hesitated before pressing play and grabbing food. "What's the matter Elle?" Sonny asked shoveling food into his mouth with chopsticks. "Nothing's the matter. I just need to tell you something." She said. "Shoot." He replied with a mouth full of food. "Well. Ok. Umm. Well." She muttered. He gave her a spit it out look. "I've met someone." She said. "You met someone. Ok. I need to meet him." Sonny's face was serious now. She couldn't help but smile. "You kind of already have." "I'm going to kill Amaro. I told him you were off limits. I'm sorry Elle but you can't. He's an ok guy but..." Sonny said. "Wait, who? Amaro? No Sonny, I'm not dating Nick Amaro." She giggled.

"Then who? The only other people we both currently know are Fin and Barba. Oh wait, I did meet some of your FBI coworkers is it one of them?" He asked. "Nope. Fraternization is looked down upon.” She said. "Who else do we both know?" He asked. "You already mentioned him." She smiled. "What? No I didn't. It's not Amaro. I said Fin but that can't be..." he stopped and looked at her, eyes wide, "Barba?" "Yes." Eleanor affirmed, grinning ear to ear.

"You're dating ADA Rafael Barba?" He asked again still somewhat confused. "Yes." She said again. "How? When?... Does he treat you well?" Sonny asked, "cause he can be a bit intense." "He's been nothing but a perfect gentlemen." She smiled. "Well, Ok not always a perfect gentlemen," she winked, "the sex is amazing." "Stop. Nope. Don't want to picture that." Sonny shook his head as if to remove the mental image he had just been given. "Ok. I'll be nice. Seriously though, he's the best guy I've ever dated." She assured her friend. "You're happy?" He asked. "I am." She replied. "Ok then, I approve. Barba might be a hard ass at work but he's also a good guy." Sonny relaxed a bit.

Eleanor turned to press play on the movie and grab a container of food. "What kind of women has he dated in the past." She asked trying to be casual. "You're asking the wrong person. I've never known him to date, but then again I didn't know he was dating you. He keeps his personal life pretty private." Sonny said. "I know." She said with a mouthful of food.

A goofy smile spread across Sonny's face as if he knew something she didn't. "What?!" She demanded. "Nothing." Sonny said still smiling. "Sonny what the hell are you smiling about?" She demanded. "It's just all of us down at the precinct have been talking about how happy Barba seems lately. Not his normal arrogant self, you know? Rollins jokingly made the comment that maybe he was getting lucky, now I know she was right." Sonny said. "Well, you're welcome." She smiled back. Sonny looked at her thoughtfully. "You know, now that I think about it, in the two years I have known Barba I have never seen him happy like I have these last few months." Eleanor didn't respond. She just grinned ear to ear like a damn school girl who just found out her crush liked her back, liked her enough to change his whole demeanor even when he wasn't around her.

\---

After Sonny left she called Rafael. "Hey, Elle, how did it go?" He asked. "Well. Sonny likes you." She giggled. "He freaked out before I told him it was you. All I told him was I was seeing someone he already knew and he about blew a gasket thinking it was Amaro." "Really. I thought he got along with Amaro." He said. "He does but apparently Sonny told him I was off limits the night I met everybody. He doesn't think Amaro is good enough for me." She said.

"Well he's right, he's not." He grunted. "Mr. Barba, are you jealous of a hypothetical relationship between Amaro and me, even though I've said no more than five words to the man in reality." She teased. "Do I need to come over there and remind you why you enjoy having me around?" Rafael threatened. "Well... we were interrupted earlier, technically you owe me." She prodded. "I'm on my way." He said, hanging up the phone.

Moments later, there was a knock at her door. When she opened it Rafael wrapped his arms around her and kissed her. He loosened his embrace just enough for her to lock the door before pulling her back to his lips. "You may need a safe word tonight." He said before dragging her into her bedroom.


	5. Chapter 5

"Hey Rollins, you got a minute?" Amaro asked as he walked into the precinct Monday morning. "Sure. What's up?" She asked. Amaro sat on the edge of her desk. “I saw Elle at Starbucks on Saturday..." "Oh Nick, you didn't?" She interrupted. "No!" It was getting old that everyone assumed he would make a move on Elle, even though he almost had. "But I saw her there and then I saw Barba come in. After he got his coffee he walked up to her and kissed her." Amaro said. "Are you sure?" Rollins asked. "It wasn't just a peck on the cheek or something?" "No. I'm talking tongue." Amaro said. "Damn. Way to go Barba." Rollins said leaning back in her chair. "Anyway," Amaro said looking a little annoyed, "Should I tell Carisi?"

"Tell Carisi what?" Carisi asked. He had just over heard the last bit. "You kinda have to now." Rollins said getting up from her chair to get some coffee. Amaro sighed. "Saturday I saw Elle and Barba at Starbucks..." "Yeah, they've been dating for three months. Apparently the sex is amazing." Sonny said, the last bit coming out a little more sarcastically than he meant, especially since he hadn't meant to say it out loud at all. Rollins spit out the sip of coffee she had just taken. "Really? Wait. No... Pent up stress ball like Barba... yeah actually never mind. I could see him being good in the sack."

"What are we talking about?" Liv asked as she walked in. "Oh, just how Barba's giving it to Carisi's friend Elle." Rollins said smiling at Carisi. "Apparently he's good too." Fin chimed in. He had walked in somewhere in the middle of the conversation. "Thanks." Carisi scowled. "Ok. How about we get to work instead." Liv said, walking past them and into her office suppressing a chuckle.

\---

Later that week, Eleanor and her FBI team walk into SVU. "Back again so soon? What can we help you with this time, Jeffries?" Liv said, shaking his hand as he approached. “We’d like to question a person of interest, Adam Matthews, your detectives picked him up a few hours ago.” Jeffries said. "I'm sorry, Jeffries, but we had to let him go." Liv said. "We had nothing to hold him on."

SVU had arrested Matthews because he had made a public scene at the diner Fin and Rollins had stopped to grab lunch at. He had threatened the waitress and wouldn’t calm down when the detectives intervened so they brought him in. Barba and the detectives join Liv and the FBI agents in the conference room to discuss aspects of the case and share notes. Matthews had appeared a few times as Eleanors team had been narrowing down suspects so they were disappointed to lose the opportunity to question him but seeing as they weren’t completely sure he was their unsub Jeffries thought it would be beneficial to enlist the detectives help.

"We know he hunts at hotels bars and takes his victims to their hotel room to torture and kill them." Jeffries said. "His type is petit blondes. He never varies. He will go without killing if the right prey is not available." AJ added. "He cuts each victim thirty-seven times. The last cut being the fatal one." Sam continued. "He brands each victim with an AM. We are assuming, if it is Matthews, because of his initials." Anderson said. "I've narrowed his next hunt to three possible hotels, most likely the Kline Hotel, tomorrow evening." Eleanor said.

"We could use some extra bodies when we go undercover. Your detectives up for it?" Jeffries asked Liv. "I'm in. You guys?" She looked around. Everyone nodded. "Whose going undercover as the victim?" Barba asked afraid to hear the answer. "I am." Eleanor said meekly, knowing how Barba would take this news. "I don't think so." Barba said sternly. "Give us a second." She said glancing at her colleagues, before dragging Rafael into Liv's office. 

"No. You can't. I don't want you put in danger." Barba pleaded desperately. "I'm sorry, Raf, but this is my job. I'm the only one who fits his victim type, other than Rollins, but she was the arresting officer when SVU picked him up." She wrapped her arms around him and looked into his eyes. "Don't worry, I have complete trust in my team and SVU, Sonny, will be there too, right next door. There will be cameras in the hotel room. Nothing is going to happen to me. I promise." "Only if I can be there too." He said. "Are you sure you want to be there? I may have to kiss this guy and pretend that I enjoy it." She said. "Why would you kiss him?" He asked. "How else does he get to their hotel rooms." Eleanor sighed. "Don't worry. I will find no pleasure in kissing a sociopath that has killed close to twenty women. I will however find satisfaction in getting him off the streets before he kills anyone else." "Ok. I still want to be there." He was putting his foot down. "I'll see what I can do." She said as she stood on her tip toes to kiss him.

Jeffries lifted both eyebrows when they returned to the conference room. “Everything good?” He asked. "Yes. Rafael will be there when we do this." Eleanor didn't ask. Jeffries looked at Barba. "You sure you're up for that?" "I'm going to have to be. I can't sit and wait not know what's happening." Rafael said. "Ok." Jeffries replied.

\---

The next day Eleanor’s team and the detectives spent the day setting cameras and monitors up in adjacent hotel rooms. Barba sat on the bed trying to stay out of the way. It was unusual to see him that quiet and uninvolved. "Go change." AJ said handing Eleanor a dress. Eleanor went in to the bathroom, she had worn a cute, simple matching black bra and panty set knowing it was likely that Barba and her colleagues would be seeing them later tonight. Her sexy undies were reserved for Barba but she didn't want to look unkempt either. She stepped into the simple black dress, zipped up the back, adjusted it, and exited the bathroom. Before she could get far, Sam and AJ dragged her back in to do her hair and make up. They gave her shoulder length blonde hair some soft curls and did her make up to look fairly natural. Other than the fact that she typically wore her hair straight, she looked like herself. It was rather unsettling how little they had to change to make her fit his victim type.

Once they exited the bathroom, Anderson put a necklace containing a hidden camera and mic around Eleanor’s neck. "You ready Elle?" Jeffries asked. "Yeah." She said giving Barba a reassuring smile. "Good. We'll come in the second you say the word home. Sam and Liv will be down in the bar with you." Jeffries said reassuringly putting his hand on her shoulder. He leaned in close and whispered so Barba couldn't hear. "Don't forget we need the brand. Say home if it gets to be too much and we'll be in. But get the brand if you can." "Got it." She said. She walked over to Barba and gave him a kiss. "I'll be fine." She said trying to reassure him.

Sam and Liv headed down to the bar. Eleanor followed once they could see them in place on the monitors. She sat at the bar and ordered a dirty vodka martini. Eleanor nursed that drink for over an hour before Adam Matthews walked up to her. "Can I buy you another drink? Yours looks almost empty." He asked. "Sure." She said smiling. 

He put his briefcase on the floor and sat down in the seat next to her, ordering himself a Manhattan and her another martini. He turned and smiled at her. "I'm Adam. What's your name?" "Annie." She said before finishing off her first martini. "So, Annie, what brings you to this chance meeting between us?" He asked. "Work. I had meetings all day today and I head back to Tampa tomorrow. I thought I'd at least get dressed up one night even if it was only to go to the hotel bar." Eleanor replied smiling. "I'm glad you did." He lifted his glass and she returned the gesture toasting their 'chance' meeting. "I'm here for work too." He said gesturing to his briefcase.

They talked for over an hour. Eleanor could see how easily his victims had fallen for his charm. Over the span of the last hour, he had moved his chair closer to her, taking the time to build up her trust before he gently rested his hand on her thigh. When he leaned in to kiss her she returned it. "You want to go to your room?" He asked inches from her face. "I'd like that." Eleanor said looking him in the eyes smiling playfully. "Check please!" He called to the bartender laughing a bit. "I've always wanted to do that." He said with a smile.

He continued to kiss her as they made their way to her hotel room. She pushed him off her when they reached the door so she could her room key. Once inside she kicked her shoes off, mostly out of habit, and he resumed kissing her. He unzipped her dress, letting it fall to the floor, exposing her six pack and muscularly defined but soft body. "Damn Barba." Amaro muttered loud enough for the room to hear him. "Just bring her back to me." Barba smirked.

"Lay down on the bed." Adam demanded. Eleanor did as he said. He set his briefcase on the dresser were she couldn't see inside. "What have you got in there?" She asked as he opened it. He pulled out two short pieces of rope and looked at her. "How kinky are you Annie?" He asked. "I'm not sure about being tied up by the man I just met at a hotel bar is such a good idea." She said, still trying to come off playful.

His demeanor changed instantly. He picked up a knife out of his briefcase and looked at her. His eyes had gone from smiling to sinister. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way. Which would you prefer Annie?" Eleanor had fear in her eyes and she knew it, but there was no denying this man was scary. "What's the easy way?" She asked swallowing a lump in her throat. "You let me tie you up without resistance." He said, "or I can wear you down with my knife and then tie you up."

Eleanor quickly weighed her options, deciding that cooperation gave her the best chance of getting the brand with minimal injuries on her part. "Go ahead." She whispered, extending out her wrist. "Good choice." He said, tying each of her wrist to the headboard. He grabbed his knife and straddled just below her waist. He slid the knife gently down her chest lingering above her stomach. "Now, what to do first?" He said. Suddenly, he flicked his wrist up quickly slicing her lower right side. The cut caught her off guard causing her to scream, her eyes filling with water. He watched the blood seep from her open wound. Before she had adjusted to the first cut he sliced up her left side a little deeper this time. She screamed again. "Please. Please. Stop. Please." She begged. He smiled and stared at her, wiping her blood off his knife on the bed sheets. "Why aren't you going in there?" Barba asked. "She has a safe word. As soon as she says it we'll go in. We need more and she knows that." Jeffries said calmly. "You said you could handle this." Rafael still looked upset but only nodded.

Adam climbed off Eleanor and walked to his briefcase. He pulled out a long metal rod with something round on the end and grill lighter. She watched him press the button on the lighter, igniting a small flame. "Why are you doing this?" She asked. He rotated the lighter in his hand, watching the flame move while he responded. "Because you're all the same, Annie. You think you can just get dressed up and take whoever you want back to your room." He snapped his gaze to Eleanor, looking her directly in the eyes. "You can't, Annie."

He walked back over to her and sat down in the same spot as before, holding the round end of the rod in the flame. She could see the end better now and could clearly make out an AM inside a circle. "What's so wrong with what I did, Adam?" She asked trying to get him to talk more. "I thought you wanted to come up." As he watched the end of the rod turn red from the heat, he calmly spoke. "Because Annie. I know you. You've got some guy waiting for you back in Tampa. Some guy who has no idea you're here with me. Some guy who loves you and would do anything for you. But you. All you care about is having a good time. Living in the moment. He's going to find out who you really are when they find your body mutilated in the morning." "That's not me at all." She pleaded. "There is no guy in Tampa. Please don't do this."

Once he was satisfied the rod was hot enough he turned the lighter off and set it on the bed and returned his gaze to her eyes. "This is going to hurt." He warned. Eleanor started to squirm. Even though she knew she needed to be branded so they could link him to his other victims, she also knew this was going to hurt worse than the cuts had. "No. No. No. Please. No." She pleaded to no avail as he pressed his brand into the skin above her lower left hip bone. She screamed again as it burned her flesh. "Please. Please." She gasped. "Just let me go home." "Go." Jeffries gave the order as soon as he heard the word home. Barba stayed glued to the monitor. "Home?" Adam said with amusement. "We're just getting started. I've got thirty-five more cuts for you." He cupped her cheek with his hand. "Don't worry though, you'll go in and out of consciousness after a while." 

The door opened, AJ, Anderson, Jeffries, Amaro, and Carisi came into the room. "FBI!" AJ said as they entered. "Put the knife down Adam." Anderson requested calmly. Eleanor saw resolve pass across Adams face. He'd rather die than not complete his task. When he lifted the knife to stab her, she closed her eyes. There was a gun shot and a thud. Jeffries had shot Adam in the shoulder causing him to fall to the side, dropping the knife to the floor. Anderson quickly kicked the knife away from Adam and handcuffed him behind his back. 

AJ put her gun away, she untied Eleanor once Adam was detained. "Are you ok?" She asked. "Yeah, I'm fine." She said wincing as she sat up. Carisi grabbed a robe from the closet and wrapped it around her. "Thanks." She said. "How's Barba?" "He did better than I expected but he'll be better once he sees for himself you're alright." Jeffries said.

Eleanor went in the room next door and walked up to Barba. "You ok?" She asked. "Me? Are you ok?" He asked putting his arms around her back pulling her close, careful not to put pressure on her wounds, and kissing the top of her head. "We got the bad guy, so yeah I'm good." She replied, dismissively. "He branded you." He said looking down at her with concern. "Yes. But every time I see it, I will be reminded that Adam Matthews will never torture and kill another women fitting my description." She smiled. "I'll try to think of it that way." He said kissing the top of her head again. "Eleanor." Liv said walking into the room. "Rollins and I are going to take you to the hospital to have your cuts looked at. One of those looked pretty deep." Rafael released her from his embrace so that she could go. "You're coming with me right, Rafi?" She said looking back at him. "Of course." He smiled following them out of the room.

\---

The cut on her left side needed stitches but the one on her right just received butterfly bandages. They cleaned her wounds and put burn cream where he had branded her. They had just finished covering her wounds with bandages when AJ showed up with the bag of extra clothes Eleanor had pack so she could change clothes. "Jeffries, Sam, and Anderson headed back to the office to start paperwork. You can do your part on Monday, go home and relax this weekend with Barba. You've got a good one there, sexy too." She winked. "I know." Eleanor smiled. "Amaro, Fin, and Carisi are waiting in the hall. Do you want me to send them on my way out?" AJ asked. "Sure." She said.

After she left, Amaro, Fin, and Carisi joined Barba, Liv, and Rollins in Eleanor’s hospital room. She had her pants on and was pulling her shirt down as they entered. Carisi looked concerned at the sight of her bandages. "I'm just a little tender Sonny. Nothing I won't bounce back from. Not even the worse injuries I've sustained on the job." She said smiling. "Still doesn't make me happy." He scowled. "Between you and Rafael being overprotective, I'm never going to be able to talk about my work again." She joked. Neither of them looked very amused.

\---

Rafael stayed with Eleanor all weekend. He would barely let her do anything for herself. "Rafi, your being very sweet, but my legs and arms work just fine. I can and should be doing things for myself." She smiled as he handed her the book she had previously attempted to get herself. "I know, but I want to be here for you." He said."I want you here too, just as my boyfriend not my care taker." She smiled rubbing her hand on his thigh. "I am far from helpless." She winked. "I'm just worried." He sighed. "I've grown fond of having you around."

She leaned over and gently kissed him. "I'm not going anywhere," she smiled, "except to work tomorrow and so are you. You can have the rest of tonight to be this overprotective, doting boyfriend, but come tomorrow morning things go back to normal and I get my sweet but confident, somewhat snarky, take no bullshit ADA boyfriend back. Deal?" "Deal." He scowled. "There's that snarky side," she smiled, "now help me think of ways to take advantage of your doting."

\---

Eleanor’s alarm went off at four thirty Monday morning. She quickly turned it off and started to get out of bed when Rafael's arms found her pulling her gently back towards him. "Where are you going?" He asked sleepily. "I'm going to workout." She replied trying to get out from under his arms. "What time is it?" He asked, not bothering to open his eyes. "Four thirty." She said freeing herself and climbing out of bed. "I'll wake you up after my shower closer to six." "Ok." He said falling back to sleep.

Thankfully he was too asleep for the word workout to register, otherwise she'd never hear the end of it. She changed into some workout clothes, wincing a bit as she wiggled into her sports bra and headed down to the building's gym. She had no intention of doing a full workout this morning but couldn't risk letting herself get out of shape while her wounds healed. Her job was too demanding. She stuck with thirty minutes of cardio on the treadmill and some arm work.

She was glistening with sweat as she rode up the elevator, heading back to her apartment. A little over three miles in thirty minutes wasn't her normal seven minute mile but all things considered she was pleased. When she walked in she saw Rafael sitting at the kitchen bar, looking far from happy. "Workout!" He said angrily. "Relax, Rafi, nothing too strenuous." She said, walking over to calm him. "I told you, today things go back to normal. This is my normal routine." "Can't you give yourself at least a week to heal before you jump into working out?" He said, calmer now but still upset. "So that I can be winded next time I have to run, chasing a suspect? For all I know that could be later this week. I don't have the luxury of waiting a week." She wasn't mad, but she was being stern. "I know my body and I took it easy today, but you are going to have to trust me to take care of myself." 

He relaxed and wrapped his arm around her waist pulling her close. "I can't help but worry. I shouldn't have watched what happened to you. I will get better, I promise." He gave her a kiss. "It's part of my job, Rafi." She said, knowing that this wasn't the first and wouldn't be the last time she would be in a situation like this. Barba sighed. "I know and I'm working on excepting it. It's just hard when you care about the person. How would you feel if it had been me?" Eleanor’s heart sank. She hadn't thought about it like that. "I would relentlessly hunt down anyone if they hurt you." She said looking up at him, her eyes giving away that she understood how he felt. She smiled when she added, “I have the resources to do it too.” “Good to know I’ll have the FBI looking for me if I ever go missing.” He smirked.

"You seriously get up at four thirty every morning to workout?" He asked, handing her the cup of coffee he had fixed while waiting for her to return. "Yes. My team and I also train in different fighting and defense techniques every Tuesday and Thursday." She smiled up at him. "I bet I could pin you down even with my injuries." "You keep making this threat, but I have yet to see any follow through." He smirked, taking a sip of coffee.

Eleanor sat her coffee down and dragged him to her bedroom. She pushed him back on her bed and climbed on top of him. He set up in protest giving her an opportunity to pull his t-shirt off over his head. She pushed him back down, enjoying the look of surprise in his eyes at the strength she put behind it. She leaned over and kissed him. He wrapped his arms around her. She moved her kisses down his neck, his chest, and stomach, stopping when she reached his boxer briefs. She slowly pulled his boxer briefs off and removed her own pants and underwear before climbing back on top of him. "Elle." He moaned as she resumed kissing his neck. "Are you sure you're up for this?" "Yes." She said, feeling him harden beneath her.

She lifted slightly to allow him access. She sat up and began to ride him. He gripped her ass and moaned looking up at her. He grabbed the bottom of her tank top and tried to pull her down to him. She smiled, shook her head no and continued to ride him while sitting up. Realizing he wasn't going to get his way he moved his thumb to her center. She began to move faster at his touch. She winced slightly when she came but Rafael released moments later and didn't notice. She collapsed on top of him panting. "You're amazing, Elle." He hummed. "You're not so bad yourself." She said smiling up at him. "You want to take a shower before work?" "Absolutely." He smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter just kind of happened. Alex (and Yelina) will be back in the next chapter.


	6. Chapter 6

Barba had been busy with a trial and Eleanor had been working late hours, causing them to not spend as much time together as they would like. She finally had a lull at work, so she decided to swing by the precinct to say hi to Sonny. She knew Barba was still busy with his trial so she didn't want to bother him, besides they were going to the Mayors Gala next night. She would survive until then.

"Hey Sonny." She said walking up to his desk. "Elle! This is a nice surprise." He said getting up to give her a hug. "Do you want to grab lunch?" She asked. "Sure." He grabbed his coat and they headed out the door.

They went to a deli not to far from the precinct. "How have you and Barba been?" Sonny asked chewing a bite of sandwich. "We've been missing each other lately. He's got some case he's been working on and I've been out of town twice in the last two weeks. You've probably seen him more than me." She replied. "Sorry Elle. He has been by a lot lately. A case we caught has us investigating one of his old friends. That on top of the trial he has going on has caused him to be particularly testy lately. It might be for the best he's been distant." Sonny said.

"Perhaps. I'm seeing him tomorrow, we're going to the Mayors Gala. His creepy friend is running for mayor and invited us." She rolled my eyes. "You think Alex Munoz is creepy?" Sonny asked. Eleanor regretted letting that slip, but she had always been too honest with Sonny. "He came by Rafael's office a few weeks back and I just got a weird vibe from him." "Why?" Sonny asked curiously. She sighed. "Without going into too much detail..." She gave him a look telling him not to judge what she was about to tell him. "He interrupted Barba and me in his office that day. He just stood there staring at me as I buttoned my shirt back. It wasn't so much that he looked at me, it was his face when he did it." "I'm going to forget that you basically just told me you almost had sex with Barba in his office." Sonny said shaking another mental image from his mind. "Alex is the guy we've been investigating. Seems he has a bit of a zipper problem." "Why doesn't that surprise me." She said rolling her eyes. "Oh, and we had sex, this was after." She said grinning. She loved getting a reaction out him. "Geez Elle, really." He groaned.

Eleanor walked him in when they got back to the station. "Don't you have important FBI business to attend to?" Sonny asked as she sat on the edge of his desk. "Things slowed down today so my team took the afternoon and tomorrow off, well everyone except Jeffries, but he has more paperwork than the rest of us." She explained.

"Elle?" They turned to see Barba and Liv coming out of the conference room. He walked over to her and wrapped his arm around her giving her a side hug and a modest kissed. "What are you doing here?" "Work slowed down a bit, I knew you were busy so I swung by to grab lunch with Sonny." She smiled. “You look pale.” She added, placing her hand on his cheek. “I’m fine. I just need...” Before he could finish, Amaro came out of the conference room. “So counselor, what’s the plan?” Barba looked annoyed but took in a deep breath and sighed. “Keep investigating, but if you plan to take out the front runner six days before the election you’d better be right." He took Eleanor’s hand almost dragging her out of the precinct.

"Are you ok?" She asked once they got outside. "Yeah." He stopped and looked at her. "He's my oldest friend.” “What happened while Carisi and I were out to lunch?” She asked. “Rollins set up a honey trap. It looks bad. I'm not going to stand in their way but I really hope they're wrong." "Me too." She said giving him a small squeeze. "You want to go back to your place and forget the rest of the world exist for a while?" He asked. "Don't you have court?" She asked. "Nope. The jury came back before lunch. Guilty." He smiled. "I'm all yours until Monday.” "Three and half days with Rafael Barba... Whatever will I do with him." She smiled, pushing to her tip toes to kiss him.

\---

They wasted no time stripping their clothes off once they got to her apartment. He must have had a lot of pent up frustration he needed to work through from this week. They had barely made it to her bedroom when he bent her over the edge of the bed. The grip he had on her sides was starting to hurt where her stitches were. "Rafi. Rafi." She winced, pulling one of his hands loose. Realizing he was hurting her, he loosened his grip and pulled out. "Sorry." He said. "I didn't mean..." She interrupted him, turning around and pushing him down on the bed. "No worries." She smiled, sitting down on him as he wrapped his arms around her, gently this time. He moaned as she rode him. When he felt her tighten around him he lifted her up to move her below him and continued thrusting. He waited for her to get off one more time before allowing himself to as well. 

He rolled over pulling her on top of him, both of them panting. Her head rested on his upper chest as he ran his fingers through her hair. "I could fall asleep like this. Happy." She said drawing shapes on his chest with his finger. "You're happy?" He asked. "I'm never happier than in the moments I get to spend with you." She said softly. "I love you." Rafael said softly. She pushed herself up to look at him. "You what?" She asked a bit shocked. He looked at her and smiled. "I know it's way too soon to tell you that, but it's how I feel. You don't have to say it back until your ready. I just wanted you to know."

Eleanor smiled and kissed him before resting her head back on his chest. "I've never said that to anyone. It may take me a while." She said shyly. "Never? Not to anyone?" He asked. "My family. And friends, like Sonny... I tell Sonny I love him all the time, but as a friend. I've never said it in the way you mean it." She said. "How many times have you said it?" "Only once before, when I was too young to know what it really meant." He pulled his arms tight around her kissing the top of her head. "Are you sure?" She asked timidly. "Sure of what?" He asked stroking her hair. "That you love me?" She asked. "There's not a doubt in my mine." He couldn't help but smile.

\---

Rafael had gone home to get ready for the Mayors Gala and would be back to pick Eleanor up at seven thirty. She wasn't exactly thrilled about seeing his friend Alex again but she was excited to have an excuse to get dressed up for Rafi, not to mention getting to see him in a tux. She had found an elegant red floor length dress and had it tailored to fit her body. It had a sweetheart neckline, cap sleeves, and an open back. The dress hugged her curves but wasn't too tight. She loosely curled her hair and did her makeup slightly more dramatic than she normally wore it.

At seven thirty she got in Rafael's town car and faced a for once speechless ADA. "You look great in a tux. It's almost a shame it's going to be in a pile on my floor later this evening." She winked. He scooted closer to her. "You look beautiful. Are you sure I get to keep you?" He smiled but a hint of self doubt crossed his face. "I'm yours for as long as you'll have me, Rafael Barba." She said and gave him a gentle kiss. "Good to know." He smiled.

He switched sides with her when we pulled up so he could help her out of the car. There were camera flashes going off everywhere she looked. Rafael took her arm, guiding them through the sea of camera's and into the ballroom where the Gala was being held.

It didn't take long for Alex Munoz to find them. He quickly gave Eleanor a once over before introducing her to his wife, Yelina. Barba noticed this time and stepped closer to her putting his arm around her waist. Yelina seemed slightly taken aback by Barba’s loving gesture towards Eleanor. "So, Rafi, how long have you two been together?" Yelina asked. "Almost five months now." He said giving Eleanor a little squeeze. "Aw, still in the honeymoon stage." She smiled giving her husbands arm a little squeeze. Before much more could be said, Alex and Yelina were pulled away to talk with a congressman, giving Rafael and Eleanor a chance to make their way to the bar.

\---

Eleanor had gone to the restroom when Yelina approached Rafael. "What's with the child, Rafi?" She said with a smirk. "I beg you pardon?" Barba was not amused by her little joke. "Come on she has to be at least fifteen years younger than you." She said pressing the issue. "She's not fifteen years younger than me, she's thirty-three and she has the most level head of anyone I know." His temper was rising. "Calm down. I'm only poking fun. Don't get so defensive, it's not like you're in love with her or anything." She calmly took a sip of her drink looking at him. "Actually I am." He said, unable to stop the smile from spreading across his face. Yelina gave Rafael a curious look. "My God, you do love her. You can't even stop yourself from smiling." She paused before gently placing her hand on his arm. "You're happy?" "I am." He smiled. "I'm glad." She said, genuinely. "You?" He asked. "Most of the time." She smiled, "You can give me your updated response after fifteen of marriage."

\---

The hallway outside the restroom was dark and empty as Eleanor made her way back to the ballroom. A figure stepped out from the shadows. "Eleanor." She stopped as Alex approached her. "Hi Alex, I was just heading back in." "Hold up." He said putting his hand on her hip. "You are gorgeous, Eleanor." He said leaning in too close. She pulled away from him and headed toward the ballroom where Rafael was. He grabbed her arm. "Where are you going?" He asked. He had a strong grip on her wrist. "You need to let me go. Now." She warned. He started to pull her closer but she spun him around pinning him to the wall with his arm twisted behind his back. "Owe, damn. Ok, I'll stop." He said. She knew she was hurting him but she didn't lessen her grip. "This is a pretty stupid move to pull on an FBI agent, Mr. Munoz. Especially with all the people looking into your extra curricular activities." "You're an FBI agent?" He said with his face smashed against the wall. "I am." She said giving him a little shove before releasing him and walking back into the ballroom.

\---

Rafael and Yelina were still talking when Eleanor approached. He could see by the look on her face that she was unhappy about something. He pulled her further away from Yelina before asking, "What's wrong?" "That man is not your friend." She said once they were far enough that only Rafael could hear her. He looked at her with concern spreading across his face. "What did he..." he started to say when Alex approached angrily. "You brought an FBI agent?" Alex spoke quietly but you could still hear the anger in his voice. "I brought my girlfriend, who you invited." He said meeting Alex's tone and eyes. "What did you do, Alex?" Yelina joined her husband. "What's going on?" She asked calmly looking around to make sure others hadn't noticed anything. "That's what I would like to know? What did you do, Alex?" Rafael repeated. Alex glared at Eleanor and Rafael for a moment, calmed himself and walked away, taking Yelina with him.

Rafael turned to Eleanor. "Are you ok?" He ask. "I'm fine. He's the one whose going to have a sore arm in the morning." She smiled. "I would like to leave now, if that's ok. I'll tell you what happened in the car." "Of course. I'll text Carl." Rafael said wrapping his arms around her. Eleanor explained in the car what had happened between Alex and her in the hallway. "I'm so sorry, Rafi." She said curling up next to him. He put his arm around her. "Don't be sorry. You didn't do anything." "I know but he's one of your oldest friends and now... I just didn't want him to be the guy SVU's investigating." She said softly.

"Me neither but he made his own choices." He said. "Let me make a few calls. See if I can get us in somewhere for dinner. No sense wasting how nice we look on take out. We can talk about something else, anything else. Let's not let him ruin our night." "That sounds like a great idea." She smiled. "I'm starved." Rafael got them in at a fancy French restaurant. They were just finishing up desert when his phone rang.

"Hey Liv, what's up?" He asked looking at Eleanor apologetically. "Ok. Really. Wow. Ok. Yeah we'll be there in twenty minutes. Yeah, Elle is with me." He hung up the phone and asked the waiter for the check. "Is everything ok?" She asked. "Yes. Apparently Alex requested pictures from an underage girl." Barba said breathing in deep. "Liv wants me to come by the precinct."

\---

"You clean up nice." Carisi poked as Rafael and Eleanor walked in. She gave him a look saying she didn't find him amusing. "Sorry to interrupt your evening," Liv said walking out of her office, "but I didn't feel this could wait." She pulled up the pictures they had found on a television. "Don't worry about it. We had just finished dinner anyway." Barba said looking at the screen. "Dinner? I thought you guys went to that Gala tonight?" Carisi asked. "Yeah, that got cut short for us." Eleanor said.

"This is bad." Barba said as Liv flipped through the pictures. "You want me to make the call?" Eleanor asked knowing between this and the women he had helped get political positions that the FBI would now be taking over. "Yes." Rafael sighed. "You wont have to be involved will you?" "No. That's a completely separate department from mine." She said reassuringly. "Good. I just want to put this whole mess behind us." He said wrapping her in his arms and giving her a far from modest kiss, unconcerned with the detectives standing in the room.


	7. Chapter 7

Rafael walked into Eleanor’s apartment holding a stack of mail he had picked up from his place. He rarely spent time at his own apartment anymore, having slowly moved most of his clothes and bathroom items into Eleanor’s when he began sleeping there most every night after Alex had publicly attacked his motives for investigating him. She had given him a key later that month.

"Anything interesting?" She asked looking at the stack of mail in his hand. Rafael looked at her and smiled. "Actually, there is." He held up a envelope addressed to him in beautiful scroll lettering. "What is that?" She asked setting her book down and walking over to him. "Not sure yet but it's from David Kensington, one of my old college buddies from Harvard." He smiled a boyish smile, as if he was recalling fond memories. "Well, open it." She said, her curiosity getting the better of her. He opened the envelope and pulled out a beautiful invitation.

 

_You are cordially invited to_   
_an evening of dinner and dancing_   
_to ring in the New Year_   
_at David and Alice Kensington's._   
_The theme is the roaring twenties and_   
_this invitation, plus appropriate dress_   
_is a must for admittance._   
_7PM on December 31st_

_875 5th Ave. #19A_   
_To RSVP please return the below section by mail before December 1st._   
_\----------------------------------------------_

_Rafael Barba &Guest ______________   
_Will be __ Will not be __ attending._   
_Please indicate the guest initials by meal preference._   
_Fish __ Chicken__ Beef __ Vegetarian __._

 

"Are they fans of The Great Gatsby?" She asked with a smirk. Rafael smiled. "Actually, now that you say that, it was his favorite book." Eleanor chuckled. "So? Do you want to go?" "I would love to catch up with David but... A theme party... What self respecting adult gets dressed up in costume?" He rolled his eyes. "Adults that want to have fun and not be boring old men like you." She poked. He looked at her somewhat surprised. "You want to go?" "It sounds like fun. Besides, where else am I going to get to hear stories about Rafael Barba in college?" She smiled a smile that clearly said she was begging him to say yes. "Ok fine. But I want the best looking suit from that era we can possibly find." She laughed but he was being serious. "We should get you a nice gold pocket watch to keep in your vest pocket with a chain that drapes across to the other side." She giggled. His eyes lit up at the suggestion and she knew he was beginning to get excited at the idea of dressing up.

\---

It was the week of Thanksgiving and Rafael and Eleanor had plans to eat lunch with her family. Her grandmother always had the whole family over to her house in upstate New York for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. She used to cook but as the family expanded and she got older, her kids began to chip in to get the holidays catered. Rafael's mom was going to join them since she was the only family he had in the area and Eleanor’s family had the opinion of the more the merrier. They were both ridiculous with nerves in the days approaching Thanksgiving. This would be the first time either of them met the others parents and in poor Rafael's case, he would meeting Eleanor’s whole family.

"How should I dress?" He asked Wednesday. The question threw her for a moment. "What do you mean?" "Tomorrow. How should I dress? A suit? Jeans and a t-shirt?" He was slightly panicking. She giggled. "Relax. I'd like to dress nice but not a suit, nice. Wear your jeans with a button up collared shirt and a v-neck sweater over it." "What are you wearing?" He had relaxed a bit. "My cobalt blue dress with black tights and my gray ankle boots." She smiled resting her head on his chest as they laid in her bed, basically their bed now.

They got up early the next morning. Too early for a day off from work. They were dressed and ready to leave the house by eight am. Carl picked them up and headed to Rafael's mother's house to pick her up. "What if she doesn't like me?" Eleanor asked as they got closer to his mother’s. Rafael smiled. "She will love you." "What if she thinks I'm not good enough for you?" She pouted. "Insecurity doesn't suit you, Elle." He said giving her a reassuring squeeze. She chewed on her lip as they drove, not feeling very reassured. “Here we go.” She whispered to herself as they pulled to a stop.

His mother was waiting on the front stoop. They both got out of the car to greet her. Rafael gave his mother a hug and a kiss on the cheek before stepping back to introduce her to Eleanor. "Mami, this is my girlfriend Eleanor." Eleanor stepped closer to her. "It's nice to meet you Mrs. Barba." "Call me Lucia." She said, quickly moving forward and engulfing her in a hug. "I am so happy to meet the woman who has finally got my Rafi to think of..." Rafael coughed and shook his head at his mother. She smiled and adjusted her statement. "to be so happy." She smiled lovingly at Eleanor and it was hard to feel nervous anymore. Eleanor had just met her but her genuine, good nature had the effect of comforting any worries you had.

The hour and a half drive to Eleanor’s grandmothers house was filled with laughter and smiles and stories of Rafael's childhood and teen years. She enjoyed every story about the precocious child that spent his early years reading and learning anything and everything that he could. The stories that followed about the quick witted teenager who was always getting in trouble for mouthing off had her laughing so hard she was wiping tears from the corner of her eyes. As she spoke fondly of her son, Eleanor couldn't help but picture them having their own miniature Rafael running around. The thought should have scared her, she had never wanted kids, but somehow the idea of kids with Rafael seemed nice. She smiled at Rafael, keeping her thoughts to herself, not wanting to scare him off, not knowing he was having a very similar thought.

\---

When they arrived at her grandmother's house, Rafael sent Carl to spend time with his own family, telling him not to return to pick them up until eight that evening. The three of them then headed up the drive and entered the house through the front door. "Elle!" Eleanor’s brother yelled from the living room as they entered. He got up and walked over, giving her a bear hug and messing her hair. "Thanks Eric." She said, running her fingers through her hair in an attempt to fix it. "So...?" Eric said eyeing Barba. "Oh, sorry. Eric this is my boyfriend, Rafael Barba and his mother Lucia." She turned to Rafael and Lucia. "This is my brother Eric." "Nice to meet you." Eric said shaking Rafael's and Lucia's hand. "It's nice to meet you too." they both said respectively.

Eleanor’s parents walked up and she introduced them as well. "Mom, dad, this is Rafael Barba and his mother, Lucia. This is my mom and dad, Ruthie and Jack Calhoun." Introductions went well and her parents and brother seemed to genuinely like Rafael and his mother. "Rafael," Eleanor’s dad tried to look serious as he was attempting to be fatherly and intimidating but failing miserably as he was fairly easy going, "so... what do you do for work?" "I'm an ADA for the city of Manhattan." He replied. Eleanor’s mother rolled her eyes at her husband. "How did you two meet?" she asked. Eleanor answered. "Sonny introduced us, well... kind of introduced us." "Really? How is Sonny? He's a good kid." She smiled. "He's good." Eleanor said. "He's working as a detective in Manhattan, that’s how he knows Rafael. He’s also going to law school at night." "Are you helping him out?" Eleanor’s dad asked looking at Rafael. Rafael smiled. "I've let him shadow a few times. He's got good instincts, but don't tell him I said that, he might start to think I enjoy having him around."

"Everyone knows you and Carisi have a budding bromance." Rafael turned to the familiar voice behind him. She smirked at his face when he saw her. "Couldn't find a girl your own age, Barba?" "Witty as ever, Rita." He said dryly. Eleanor’s dad leaned over to her, "I'm confused. Do they know each other?" "Yes dad, Rita is a top defense attorney. They go head to head in the courtroom quite often." Eleanor replied. Rita smiled at Barba. "Lighten up Barba, I'm only kidding. Eleanor is a well grounded, intelligent woman, who, now that I think about it, is a really good match for you." He lifted an eyebrow at Rita, not quite sure how to take her latest comment.

"Barba, I can separate work from family if you can." Rita looked at Eleanor and then smiled at him. "Besides, from what I hear, where going to have to." Rafael glanced at Eleanor and then back to Rita, "Why is that?" "Oh, I just hear things and those things seem to indicate that you're going to around for a while." She smiled at the rare opportunity to see Barba trying to figure out what she was talking about and walked over to Eleanor. "Elle, hang on to him. We may have our differences in court, but he's one of the good ones." she whispered, where only Eleanor could hear.

The rest of Thanksgiving went smoothly. Eleanor’s family enjoyed Rafael and his mother’s company and plans were made for their presence at Christmas. Rita had introduced Barba to her husband and even started to refer to him as Rafael. It was strange to see the two seeming to get along. "Hey Barba." Rita called as they were getting ready to leave. "Yes." He replied. "Just because I can be nice outside the courtroom doesn't mean I'm going to go any easier on you inside one." She jabbed. "It wouldn't be any fun if you did." He smirked back.

\---

Christmas with their families had been perfect. Rafael had gotten Eleanor a beautiful pair of vintage looking diamond earrings and she had gotten him a gold vintage pocket watch. She planned on wearing her earrings to the New Years Eve party they were attending. She had found a royal blue flapper dress, with silver translucent feather shaped lace with bits of sparkle, detailing the skirt. The feather detail continued softly up the front of the dress ending in silver feathers coming off the right shoulder. She had a silver headband that was similar to the feather detail in the dress and the royal blue vintage shoes. Rafael had found a dark gray pinstriped suit and paired it with a solid gray vest, light gray tie and white shirt. Truth be told, his suit looked pretty similar to what he normally wore, but it did have a vintage feel to it, especially once you added the pocket watch and Homburg hat.

The day of the party Eleanor had her hair and make up done professionally. She wasn't very experimental with her appearance and didn't trust herself to do it. The stylists were fantastic and styled her hair, that was now just past her shoulders, into soft low bun off to one side with gentle waves of hair cascading down, framing her face on the side the bun was pulled to and a few loose curly strands framing it on the other side. The headband was covered at the base on each side by hair. Her eyes were much darker than she was used but it was fitting for the evening, as was the red lipstick.

It was five thirty when she returned home from the salon. Rafael was already getting ready when she entered the bedroom. "Wow." He said, staring at her. "What?" She smirked. "I've just never seen you with that much make up." He smiled. "Is it terrible?" She asked suddenly self conscious. Rafael smiled. "No. Not at all. It's different but you look gorgeous." Eleanor smiled and began to get dressed. Rafael finished before her and went to the living room to wait. When she walked out, his eyes it up. "The twenties is a very suiting decade for you." He said. She blushed. "You look pretty damn good yourself."

\---

David smiled at Rafael. "I'm so glad you could make it." He said giving him a hug. "Me too. Thanks for inviting us. It's been too long." Rafael replied. "Well, you're a busy ADA and I'm almost as busy as you at Goldman Sachs. It's amazing we have time to do anything but work." David laughed. "Isn't that the truth." Rafael sighed.

Eleanor moved closer to Rafael. "Elle, sorry, where are my manners. David, this is my girlfriend Eleanor. Elle, this is David." "It's nice to meet you, Eleanor." He said, taking her hand and kissing it. "My wife is around here somewhere, I'll have to introduce you later." "I look forward to it." She smiled, turning her attention to Rafael. "I'm going to get a drink, Rafi, you want one?" "Sure." He said. Once she headed off to the bar, David looked at Rafael. "I love my wife, so don't take this the wrong way, but you are a very lucky man." "She's incredibly smart too." Rafael added.

\---

At dinner, they were seated across from David and Alice. Alice had been very easy going and nice to everyone at the party except Eleanor. She seemed to have the impression that Eleanor was merely arm candy for the ADA. She had gone on and on about her education from Brown and how that had made her connections to the fundraising and charitable organizations she now volunteered for, making her yet again so much better than the quiet, arm candy sitting in front of her. Eleanor was happily ignoring her self boasting and pointed jabs, when Alice stopped talking and looked directly at her. "Eleanor is it? What do you do?" Eleanor smiled politely. "You can call me Elle." Alice’s nose flared at her suggestion. "I work for the FBI." She continued. Alice almost choke on the sip she had just taken. "The FBI? Really?" "Yep, going on seven years now." Eleanor smiled.

Alice set her drink down, clearly not done with her attempt to make Eleanor appear less somehow. "What kind education does it take to work for the FBI?" Eleanor thought for a second. "Well, to be an agent, you need a bachelors degree in a relevant field of study." "A degree from anywhere?" Alice asked. "I suppose." Eleanor smiled, knowing from her years of experience at reading people, Alice’s next question. "And where is your degree from?" Alice picked her glass up after she asked and took a victory sip.

Eleanor spoke calmly, her smile unwavering, but no longer allowing Alice to feel as though she had the upper hand. "I personally studied applied mathematics at MIT for undergrad and graduate school. I then attended Harvard for my doctorate degree, where I focused on data points and patterns and how they could help law enforcement locate suspects. I was recruited by both the CIA and FBI during my final year." Rafael stopped smiling. "I didn't know you were recruited by the CIA."

“It’s not a big deal. I chose the FBI.” She smiled. "But by CIA you mean spy type work?" Rafael whispered looking shocked, as did the rest of the table that had gone silent now. Her expression was serious and unwavering. "The CIA position I was offered is not something I can talk about." "But..." Rafael began. "I chose the FBI so that I could have a chance at something like we have."

The table stared at her stunned, Alice at a loss for words. Eleanor laughed softly and looked around the table, "I wasn’t going to be a spy or anything. I still can't talk about the position but keep in mind I am a mathematician." Everyone relaxed and started up their conversations again, everyone expect Rafael. He had seen Eleanor at work and knew she was well trained. He was beginning to think she was better trained than he previously knew. He leaned over and whispered in her ear. "Did you work for the CIA?" She pulled back and looked him the eye, sighed, and whispered in his ear. "Later."

\---

After dinner, they mingled for a bit and then started exploring David and Alice's penthouse, making their way upstairs with a few other people to look at some paintings. After discussing a painting for a bit they noticed that they were the only ones left upstairs. It was getting close to midnight and everybody else was making there way towards the terrace to watch the fireworks.

The look in Rafael's eyes told her he needed to know the answer to the question he was about to ask. "Did you work for the CIA?" Eleanor looked around the hallway and dragged him through a door, closing and locking it behind them. The room was a minimally decorated guest room, that fit the minimalist motif of the rest of the home. Rafael watched her as she flipped the lights on looking for any signs of a security camera. Once she was satisfied the room was clean she flipped the light off and walked over to him, placing herself as close to his ear as possible. "What I am about to tell you, you can never repeat. Do you understand?" She asked. Once he nodded she continued to whisper in his ear. "I worked for the CIA for a little over a year not including the two years spent training. I had three undercover missions. I almost died during the last one. It was the realization that if I had died, my family would have never known what happened to me that caused me to leave and join to the FBI. This is not something I’m allowed to talk about, even with you." She stepped back to gauge Rafael's reaction.

His face had a look of astonishment mixed with something else she couldn't quite pin point. Suddenly, Rafael wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to his lips. She smiled as he moved from her lips to her neck. "Really? This turns you on?" She teased. He didn't say anything. He walked her backwards and pushed her up against the wall, continuing to kiss her. He reached down and unzipped his pants pulling himself out. Without removing his lips from hers, he pulled her dress up around her waist and lifted her off the ground, her back pressed against the wall, her legs wrapped around his waist. With one hand he reached under her and pulled her panties to the side to allow himself access. She moaned loudly as he entered. "Shhh..." He smiled before placing his mouth back on hers, thrusting in and out, her arms around his neck. Lifting her up slightly with every thrust. The weight of her pushing back down causing him to reach deeper inside. His hands griped her butt, squeezing, as he held her up. She ran her fingers through his hair, slipping her tongue into his mouth, sucking on his when it entered hers. They could hear the group downstairs over the music now. "Ten, nine, eight, seven, ..." He thrust deeper and faster and her mouth moved to his neck, biting down slightly to muffle a moan as she came, tightening herself around him. "Three, two, one, Happy New Year!" The group below cheered oblivious to their absence. Rafael grunted to stifle a moan as he came. He held her there, both panting, her legs wrapped around him, back pressed against the wall. She kissed his neck. "Rafi?" "Yes." He replied softly, out of breath. "I love you." She whispered. He looked at her. "Are you sure?" "More than I've ever been of anything." She smiled, kissed him and rested her forehead on his, enjoying this moment. "I love you too." He said looking at her.

Rafael's phone rang. "Of course" He said dryly as he carefully set her down and answered his phone while adjusting and zipping up his pants. "Hello." He answered, still breathing heavily. "Hey Liv." He looks at Eleanor and shakes his head. She adjusted her dress knowing they would be leaving soon. "Yeah. Ok. Yeah. I'll see what I can do. Give us about twenty minutes. Yes Elle is with me." He hung up the phone. "Let me guess, we're heading to SVU?" She smiled. They left the party without saying goodbye. Eleanor fixed her hair in the car and wiped her lipstick from around Rafael's mouth. Rafael texted David, apologizing for their abrupt departure, explaining that his work didn't understand the meaning of a holiday.

When they walked into SVU, everyone else was already there. "What, were you two traveling on your time machine, Barba?" Liv said smiling. "Not my time machine." Barba smirked back. "So, did you drag me down here to make jokes or did you actually have something for me?" Liv smiled and began explaining the case. They didn't have a lot of time and needed the warrant right away but Barba was concerned about getting a judge to sign off with so little evidence. He finally decided to call a judge that owed him a favor, believing that the detectives were right and there was more to this case. After he hung up the phone he looked to the group of detectives. "You'll have your warrant in thirty minutes."

"Thanks for doing this." Liv said. "We'll call you when we have more and can start to build a case." He nodded and headed over to Carisi's desk, where Eleanor was helping him and Amaro go over the little bit of information they had on their perp. He tapped her on the shoulder. "You ready to head home?" Eleanor nodded and started to get up.

Rollins walked up behind Barba, looking at him funny. "Hey Barba, is that a bite mark on your neck?" Eleanor’s eyes went wide and she held back a chuckle as she gauged his reaction. He simply smiled. "Probably." "Weren't you guys at a party?" Amaro asked, lifting an eyebrow. Amanda pulled Barba's collar back, investigating the mark. "This bite is not old, definitely from tonight." Barba pulled away from her and rolled his eyes. "Kinky." Rollins said smiling.

Carisi was not as amused. "Just what kind of party did you take her too?" He was looking cross at Barba. "Just a roaring twenties themed dinner party. Nothing kinky, I promise." He glanced at Rollins with a look of annoyance for using the word. Carisi wasn't through though. "Then how did you end up with a bite mark on your neck?" Barba hesitated, not sure how to respond. "We may have stumbled upon and empty room upstairs." Eleanor interjected before Barba could speak. Carisi's face was priceless. "Geez, Elle!" "What? I had to stifle my moan somehow, there were twenty people downstairs." She smiled, clearly enjoying the torment she was putting Sonny through. She followed as he covered his ears and tried to walk away. "Nope. Stop. I don't want to hear anymore." She smiled and placed her hand on his arm. "Then stop prying." He looked at her slightly annoyed. "Fine." "Wait. Barba, is that why you were breathing heavy when you answered your phone?" Liv asked, getting a chuckle out of everyone one but Carisi. "Thanks Liv." Carisi said. She just smiled, not hiding her amusement.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m not entirely happy with this chapter but it will have to do.

"Rafi?" Eleanor whispered to see if he was awake. She didn't want to wake him if had fallen asleep. "Yes." He murmured pulling her closer to him and wrapping his arms tighter around her. Neither of them were wearing clothing, just skin touching skin, legs and arms intertwined. The softness of the sheets lightly touching their skin. Both of their heads rested on the same pillow.

She gently turned to her back so she could look at him as. "Would you want to move in together?" He looked at her thoughtfully. "That's a big step." "I know." She sighed. "Have you thought it through?" He asked. She smiled. "I've thought a lot about it but I'm sure I haven't thought about everything." "So have I." He said. "Really?" She inquired. He smiled. "Of course. I can't even remember the last time I slept at my place." She sat up excitedly. "So... What do you think?"

"Well..." he said sitting up and taking her hands in his, "I think your apartment has a better layout than mine and the buildings amenities are definitely better than mine but I'm not sure some of the things I would like to keep will fit." "Hmm... like what?" She asked. "My desk and bookshelves, mostly." He smiled. "Ok, so what if we made some changes to my apartment. Moved the guest bed out and turned the guest room into our office. Your desk and bookshelves would fit easily in there with mine if we did that. Then we could get a storage unit for anything you wanted to keep that we couldn't fit. We could put your apartment on the market and once it sold, look into buying a larger unit in this building." She smiled. "I mean I've only given it a little thought."

He pursed his lips to the side. "All of that sounds nice but I don't know about the idea of buying a home together before we're married." "I understand." She sighed. "And it's too soon for that?" That last bit came out as a question which was not her intention. Rafael looked at her. "Do you want to get married?" He asked, surprise clearly etched in his voice. “I don’t know.” Eleanor said closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, not seeing the look of disappointment flash across Rafael’s face. “I mean, I think about marrying you but,” She opened her eyes, “is it too soon?” Rafael thought for a moment. "Too soon for who?" He asked.

"For us? We’ve only known each other eight months." She answered. “Eight wonderful months.” He smiled. “Very wonderful.” She smiled back. “I’m going to ask you a few questions.” He said taking her hands in his. "Do you want to see me everyday?” He asked. "Always." She smiled as he lightly ran his fingers over her palms. "When you picture your future, am I there?" He questioned. "Of course" She replied. "Have you pictured children running around, out witting us at every turn?" He smiled with this question. "Have you pictured our unborn children running around? She asked raising an eyebrow. He smiled. "I have, now answer the question." "I have." She smiled.

"So, is it too soon for who?" He asked again. She thought for a moment. "I don't know. I guess maybe I'm thinking of society norms." She sighed. He smiled. "Screw society norms. Do you love me?" "You know I do." She smiled. Rafael's face became serious. "Will you marry me?" The corners of her mouth turned up slightly as she looked into his eyes. "Nothing would make me happier." He pulled her close and kissed her and the hopped out of bed. "Wait here." He said as he briskly walked out of the bedroom. She grinned as she leaned to watch his bare bottom as he left.

She heard the locks on his brief case pop open and then him rummaging through the papers and other items within. Shortly after she heard the locks close then he came back in the room. "What did you go do?" She asked curiously. He sat back down ignoring her question. "Elle. I want you to know that I have thought about marrying you for a while now. I told my mother that one day you were going to be my wife after only knowing you for a few months." Eleanor smiled as he put her left hand in his. "I bought this last week and have been racking my brain trying to create or find the perfect moment. I can't imagine a more perfect moment than this." He said, lifting her hand higher and sliding a ring on her left ring finger.

She looked down at the ring. It was white gold, with tiny diamonds lining the band. There was a simple, round, solitaire diamond on top held by a six pronged mount. She had no idea what carat the diamond was just that it was large on her finger but not so big she felt it would get in the way at work. She looked at Rafael. "It's beautiful." "You like it?" He asked looking down, suddenly seeming insecure. She smiled and gently guided his face back so she could look him in the eyes. "Don't get insecure on me now. I'm kind of in love with this arrogant lawyer, maybe you've met him, Rafael Barba?"

"Oh, I'll give you arrogant." He said pulling her under him while moving to his hands and knees. He leaned down to kiss her before moving his knees between her legs. He pinned both her wrist down above her head with his left hand while running his right down her lips, over her chin, down the front of her neck, slowly reaching her chest. He lightly brushed his thump over her nipple before cupping her breast. "Counselor?" She gasped, smiling. 

He released her wrist and lowered himself on top of her, wrapping his arms around her as their lips met. His kisses traveled down her chin to her neck where he lingered, sucking a noticeable love bite at the curve where her shoulder and neck met. Her soft moans guided his kisses further down her body. His hand cupped her right breast, grazing his left thumb across a nipple that hardened at the gentle contact. His mouth surrounded her left nipple, gently sucking, pulling it into his mouth, still tonguing it. He moved his mouth the the right breast, tonguing and sucking, while listening to the breathy moans escaping her. 

His kisses again began to move south, down her stomach, across her hip bone, slowing once they reached her inner thighs. He alternated kissing the inside of each thigh, slowly moving closer and closer to were she now desperately wanted his tongue. After he was satisfied he had felt enough squirms from his teasing, he reached his arms under her legs and pulled her down to his mouth. She could feel each flick of his tongue as he teasingly licked her most sensitive spot. 

Rafael strengthened the grip on her legs when her back arched and moans grew louder and closer together. She jerked forward as she orgasmed, moaning loudly, gripping the sheets in her fist on each side as she lowered back down. His tongue continued it's movements and she moaned again jerking her thighs against his grip but he didn't let up. "Rafi" She panted before letting out another moan. Rafael was watching, looking up at her as his tongue worked its magic. She reached above her head and pulled a pillow down over her face stifling one of her loudest moans yet. The combination of sensation and sensitivity was almost too much to bare. Her fist gripped the pillow as she pulled it down harder on her face moaning as her back arched and body shook as she released into a second orgasm. 

Rafael released his grip on her thighs, smiling as they trembled. She rolled onto her side moving the pillow under her head. He laid behind her, wrapping his arms around her, holding her while her legs continued to tremble. He kissed the curve of her neck and when she turned her head toward him, his kisses landed on her lips, soft and gently. Even though her legs were still shacking Rafael's kisses intensified. His hands found their way to her breast and she felt him harden against my back. She moaned softly at his touch. His right hand moved down to guide him into her. He lifted her right leg slightly to give him better access but once he was in he lowered it back down. He moaned as he moved inside her, holding her tight in their spooning position, arms lovingly wrapped around her. 

Once Rafael felt she had mostly recovered, he rolled her to her stomach, as he sat on his knees straddling the back of her thighs, her legs pushed tight together beneath him. He began to thrust harder and faster. Her arms were raised above her head and his hands wrap around each wrist, firmly holding them in place as he held himself up. She moaned loudly as he pushed harder and deeper into her. Rafael groaned. His thrust became harder and faster as he got closer to climax. In this position, she could feel every inch of him. She moaned louder as he hit the right spot, this time unable to move or jerk her body from his weight on top of her. Her breathing became rapid, she moaned louder and at a higher pitch. Rafael pushed in, one, two, three more times holding himself deeply inside her as he grunted his release on the last thrust.

He collapsed on top of her, rolling them back over to a spooning position, never removing himself. She intertwined her fingers with his, smiling as the light bounced off the newly added ring on her hand. "I love you, Raf." She said closing her eyes. "I love you too, Elle." Rafael said tightening his arms around her.

\---

Eleanor awoke the next morning still wrapped in Rafael's arms. "Good morning." Rafael whispered softly in her ear when she started to stir. "Good morning." She said smiling as she stretched. "You want to take a shower?" He asked. She nodded and sleepily followed him to the bathroom. He was on the phone when she emerged from the bedroom dressed and ready for brunch with Sonny and the rest of the detectives. Rafael was talking excitedly, "I know Mami. Yes Mami. Of course we'll do dinner soon. I am too Mami. Ok, I have to go. I love you too." She smiled and set down next to him on the couch. "Is your mom happy you’re getting married?" "Happy wouldn't even begin to describe it." He grinned.

Eleanor picked up her phone and dialed her parents line. "Hey mom. Hey is dad around. Can you get him to come to the phone as well, maybe put it on speaker. Ok, you both there? I've got some news. No, I’m not moving. No, not pregnant either. Mom can you stop trying to guess and let me just tell you." She shook her head looking at Rafael who let out a little laugh. "Rafael and I are getting married. Just last night. No nothing crazy, it was sweet, intimate, here at home. Yeah, sure, we could do dinner next weekend. Yeah. I am happy. Ok. I love you too." Rafael put his arm around her shoulder. "So... parents down. I guess Sonny's next." Rafael smirked. "Let's see how long it takes the detective to notice." She suggested.

\---

Rollins, Liv, Amaro, and Sonny were already at the table when they arrived. Fin was spending the day with his son so wasn't able to join them. "Sorry we're late. Traffic was terrible getting down here." Eleanor said as they sat down. "No worries." Rollins said. "We ordered you both mimosas when we ordered ours. they haven't even arrived yet so you haven't missed much."

"Sonny, I haven't seen you lately, works been crazy busy. How's life been treating you these last few weeks." She asked. "Fine." He scoffed. "What's wrong?" She pried. "Nothing." He replied. "Oh he's just butt hurt because the girl he's been eyeing at the coffee shop turned him down." Rollins said. Eleanor smiled at Sonny's tendency to always wear his heart on his sleeve. "You know who told me they though you were cute the first time they met you and still asks about you from time to time?" She asked Sonny. He perked up slightly. "Who?" "You remember AJ, from my work? Well she's asked about you multiple times. I could probably set up a double date with Rafi and me." She offered. He quickly turned back into his normal happy self. "Yeah, sure. I mean that sounds like it could be fun."

After they ordered, Olivia told stories about Noah and how much he was growing. Nick talked about bonding with his son and how much his daughters interest were changing as she got older. They were laughing and enjoying brunch when Rollins noticed. "What is that on your finger?" She asked loudly. She caught Eleanor off guard as she hadn't even been thinking about their engagement. "What?" She said genuinely surprised. Rafael laughed at her response. "That?" Rollins said pointing at her left hand. "Oh, yeah, that." She said smiling as the others at the table noticed too. They all looked at Barba. Rafael smiled. "I asked Elle to marry me last night." "Congratulations." Liv said standing up to give them a hug. "Congratulations." Nick and Rollins said each giving them a hug as well. Sonny hugged her next. "I'm happy for you Elle. I know I'm over protective when it comes to the guys you date but I like Barba for you." He said smiling at her. "Good to know." Barba chuckled. Sonny turned to him. "That doesn't mean I'm not watching you Barba." Barba rolled his eyes.


	9. Chapter 9

Eleanor had been out of town with work for over two weeks. It was one of the longest cases her team had worked since she had moved back to New York. They were stuck in some small town in North Carolina chasing a serial killer that liked to dismember his victims and leave their body parts scattered along interstate ninety-five. "Why is it serial killers always seem to show up in small towns?" Eleanor wasn't really asking because she wanted an answer but more because she was frustrated that they weren't making progress and was ready to get home. AJ commiserated in her frustration. "Isn't that the truth. You'd think they'd at least be easier to find since there are fewer people." Anderson smiled at them but continued to work.

"Another girls been taken." One of the local officers said out of breath as he ran into the police station. "Where was she taken from?" Eleanor asked. "From the Quick Stop Truck Stop." He place a push pin on the map indicating the location of the truck stop. Jeffries furrowed his brow as he looked at the map. "Have we considered this guy might be a truck driver?" Anderson stood by Jeffries looking at the map. "That would make sense. The girls disappear along interstate ninety-five from north to south chronologically." Sam called Terry to get her to run information on truck drivers that had routes taking them down interstate ninety-five.

Eleanor ran a few numbers to see if she could pin point where he might be keeping the girl based off of prior kidnapping and disposal locations. "Terry's sending over a list of possible truckers that have routes taking them down interstate ninety-five and fit our profile." Sam said hanging up the phone. Eleanor walked to the map and circled a small area not far off the interstate. "He’s most likely taking her somewhere around here."

As soon as Terry's list came through they headed to the area Eleanor had narrowed their search to. Their approach was to look for a parked truck that belong to someone on the list. Anderson spotted the truck first, he pointed and signaled he'd take the driver side. AJ went with him. Jeffries and Eleanor took the passenger side, while Sam covered at a distance. As Jeffries and Eleanor approached the passenger door to the cab of the truck they heard a muffled scream. Eleanor quietly stepped up and looked through the window seeing Anderson doing the same on the drivers side. He counted down on his fingers, three, two, one. They both quietly opened the doors at the same time, guns pointed. 

No one was in the front of the cab but there was a door leading to the sleeping area. The screams they heard were less muffled now. Anderson moved to the door, looking to Eleanor, checking that she was ready. She nodded. He quickly opened the door and aimed his gun at Thomas Peters. "FBI. Don't move." Thomas Peters had a knife in his hand standing in front the kidnapped girl. She was tied up and bleeding. He dropped the knife and surrendered easily. Anderson kept his gun trained on him as Eleanor cuffed him and then he lead him out of the cab. AJ made her way back to the bound girl. "It's going to be ok. We've got you now." She untied her and helped her to her feet and out of the cab.

AJ sat next to Eleanor on their flight back to New York. “Can I ask you a personal question?” She asked glancing at the ring Eleanor was rotating with her thumb. “Sure.” Eleanor replied. “I think Rafael is a great guy, but...” “Isn’t it moving a little fast?” Eleanor interrupted. “Yeah.” AJ replied. “It’s really none of my business and I don’t mean to overstep but as your friend I want to make sure you’ve thought this through.” Eleanor didn’t feel her friend’s concern was intrusive. “I’m thirty three, it’s not like I haven’t had relationships before...” “I didn’t mean...” AJ interrupted but Eleanor stopped her. “Let me finish.” She smirked. “My longest relationship was while I was getting my PhD. We had talked about out future but both were being recruited by the FBI. When it came down to it I chose work over the relationship. I always thought it was because I had worked so hard to get to that point and that I would always put my career first. Now...” She paused, “I would choose Rafael. I mean I don’t know why I would have to but I would.” 

AJ exhaled, “and you’re sure he feels the same?” At that Eleanor smirked. “I’ve spent the better part of a decade reading people. I try to not notice the micro expressions of the people close to me but sometimes it’s hard not to, believe me Rafael feels the same way.” AJ smiled at her. "So, have you done much wedding planning?" "Yes, with all of my free time." Eleanor said sarcastically. "Seriously though, my mom is being a great help. She's always been better at these types of things than me. I gave her some pictures of what I liked and set her loose. She may actually have it planned and ready to go when we get back." "Good." AJ smiled. "I've been looking for an excuse to see your cute detective friend again."

"Oh, speaking of Sonny, do you want to go to dinner with him, Barba, and me this weekend?" She asked. "Are you sure you want to set me up with your friend? What if it doesn't work out?" AJ replied. Eleanor smiled reassuringly. "Then it doesn't work out. It's not like you two work together very often and he's not crazy, so even if you did have to see him it wouldn't be a problem." "Ok, just tell me when and where." AJ said with a goofy grin on her face.

\---

Eleanor arrived home around one in the afternoon. She texted Barba but he was still in court, he did say he would try to get out early. She took the opportunity of a free afternoon to unpack some of his boxes that had been sitting on the living room floor for weeks. Barba walked through the front door at six fifty. "What is that smell?" "Dinner." She said smiling from the kitchen with an apron on.

Barba walked towards the kitchen with a curious look on his face. "I thought you said you couldn't cook?" He said suspiciously eyeing the wooden spoon in her hand and pot steaming behind her. "I said I didn't cook, not that I couldn't cook." She smiled. He looked around the kitchen seeing dishes in the sink, two plates on the counter, an open bottle of wine, two wine glasses, one with wine already in it, and only the steaming pot on the stove. "What are you making?" "Roasted potatoes, baked salmon, and steamed asparagus. There are rolls too." She said, flipping on the oven light.

He walked over and poured himself a glass of wine. "How much longer until it's ready?" "About five minutes." She said, poking at an asparagus. Rafael looked around the the apartment. "You unpacked all my boxes." "I did." She said, checking the temperature on the salmon. "It's only been five hours. How did you have time to unpack all the boxes, shop for food, and cook." He asked astonished. "What fun would marriage be if I let you in on all my secrets now." She winked, before leaning down to pull the salmon out of the oven. She plated the food and handed them to Rafael to take to the table while she turned things off in the kitchen. Rafael looked at her when she joined him at the table. "You amaze me everyday, you know that right?" "Yep." She smiled. "Oh, before I forget, we're going to have dinner with Sonny and AJ on Friday." She said putting a piece of potato in her mouth.

\---  
AJ, Sonny, Rafael, and Eleanor had dinner at a trendy little Indian place with plans to see a show on broadway after. AJ and Sonny had hit it off from the beginning, which led to a lot of goofy I told you so gestures and facial expression directed at Rafael on Eleanor’s part. He merely responded with eye rolls. The theater was close to the restaurant so they decided to walk since it was such a nice night. They weren't too far from the theater when a guy, with a Slovenian accent, started yelling, "Isabella" and waving in their direction. A lump caught in Eleanor’s throat at the name but she showed no tells on the outside. As they got closer it became apparent the man was calling to her. "That guy thinks you're someone named Isabella, Elle." Sonny said with amusement. She smiled at Sonny but was panicking on the inside.

The man approached them. "Isabella! I can't believe I see you. Davor misses you." He said, his accent becoming noticeable to the others. His eyes noticing Rafael's arm around her. "I'm sorry, but you have me confused with someone else." She smiled and continued to walk towards the theater, hoping that Henrik would except her words and assume he had been mistaken. "My mistake." He said without conviction, stepping aside to let them pass. "That was crazy Elle. I guess you have a doppelgänger out there somewhere named Isabella." Sonny said excitedly. "I guess." She said forcing a smile.

When they left the theater Eleanor was careful to take note of her surroundings without being too obvious. Out of the corner of her eye she saw him. Henrik was sitting at an outside cafe watching them. “Shit,” she thought to herself, “he knows.” Once they rounded the corner, she looked at AJ, Sonny, and Rafael. "Do you guys mind if we make a pit stop by work? I forgot something." "Fine with me." AJ and Sonny said almost in unison. 

Her panic was starting to show once they reached her desk. She fumbled with the keyboard while attempting to log in. "Damn it." She muttered before finally getting the password right. "Is something wrong, Elle?" AJ asked. "Yes." She said. "That man back there on the street calling me Isabella didn't have me mistaken for someone else and he was watching from a cafe when we left the theater." Sonny looked confused but Barba was connecting the dots. AJ looked at her, knowingly and asked. "How long have you really worked for the FBI, Elle?"

"Four years." She replied as she clicked through different screens on her computer. "You mean seven years." Sonny said still confused. "Why would you say four?" "Not now Sonny." She snapped. "Which mission?" Rafael asked. AJ looked stunned. "He knows?" "Not much." Eleanor assured her and then looked at Rafael. "The last one." Barba sat down in the nearest chair, his brain racing with thoughts. AJ looked at him and then to Eleanor. "What happened on your last mission?"

Eleanor closed her eyes and exhaled before answering. "That man we saw on the street is Henrik Mlakar, his brothers name is Davor Mlakar. During my last mission I was trying to get information on their family's weapons business and Davor took and interest in me. I got close to him and his family to send back information. The problem was Davor is not a nice man. He came to think of me as his property. At first it was ok because we were gaining ground on taking down the operation. Slowly, over time though he became abusive. Nothing I wasn't trained to handle, but then it got worse. One night...” She paused glancing at both Rafael and Sonny and thought better of elaborating. “I sent for help. The night they raided his family’s house he had beaten me so badly they almost didn't recognize me. I was bleeding internally and received three surgeries to repair the damage, spending four months in the hospital. Davor and his family got away, leaving his cronies to take the fall during the raid. If Henrik tells his brother he even thinks he saw me, Davor will stop at nothing to find me."

Sonny was speechless and staring at Eleanor trying to piece together the little bit of information he now knew. Barba was deep in thought. AJ spoke. "He never knew you were a spy?" "No. I am merely property he wants back." She sighed. Eleanor finally found the file on the Mlakar family in the CIA database. "AJ I'm e-mailing this to you. If anything happens to me contact Todd Price, his information is in the file. He was my handler and knows Davor almost as well as I do."

\---

Rafael had Carl pick them up, dropping Sonny and then AJ off on their way home. They hadn't said much on the ride home or walk up to the apartment. They were now laying in bed and Rafael was holding her tighter than normal. "Are you ok?" She asked. "I'm not sure." He said. "Should I be worried?" "Do you want the truth or a lie?" She asked, hoping he'd choose a blissfully ignorant lie. "The truth." He sighed. "I'm terrified, Rafi." The words coming out mostly as air. He kissed the top of her head. "I’ve never seen you scared. I hate that you went through that." "I knew the risk." She sighed dismissively. Rafael hesitated for a moment. "Would it be ok if I asked you about it?" She looked up at him. "Are you sure you want to know?" "No." He replied. "But I can't stop thinking about what you told AJ earlier and I'm afraid that my own thoughts are worst than the truth and..."

She cut him off. “What if they’re not?” Rafael closed his eyes, her last words leaving him feeling like he had just been kicked in the gut. She gently kissed him before running her hand through his hair. "What do you want to know?" "How long did your mission last?" He asked. "Nearly six months." She replied. "Were you with Davor the whole time?" He asked concerned. She burrowed her head into his chest. "Not the whole time but almost." He shut his eyes tightly as the thoughts of what could have happened to her over the span of six months crossed his mind. "How long were you with him before he started hurting you?" "How about I just tell you what happened?" She said resting her hand on his cheek. He nodded.

Eleanor began at the beginning, when she first got to Slovenia and was introduced to Davor at an international arms show. She told him about how Davor had taken an interest in her almost immediately but he had been kind and sweet at first. "After two months he moved me into his family's home to keep me close, which I didn't object to because I needed information on his family. It wasn't long before he began to change. He would get angry over a deal gone wrong and I'd get a black eye for asking what he wanted for dinner." She looked up at Rafi and continued. "It started very similarly to the many domestic abuse cases you've seen over the years except I had been trained to compartmentalize. To deal with situations that arose when working with these types of people." Rafi tightened his embrace. She continued. "I had been choosing to keep myself pure in his eyes. I didn't want him to tire of me so I had managed to keep our relationship hot and steamy but always leaving him wanting more. I knew, given the nature of our relationship that eventually it would become intimate but I didn't expect it to happen the way it did." 

Eleanor paused for a moment, deciding how much she should divulge. She took a deep breath and continued. "About a month after I moved in, he came home late one night, drunk and angry from whatever had happened earlier that day. He barged into my room not even bothering to close the door. I had just crawled into bed. He climbed in with me and started forcibly kissing me and pulling my clothes off. I tried to tell him I wasn't ready, that I wanted our first time to be special but he ignored my pleas. I made the mistake of trying to push him off me. This only fueled his anger. He dislocated my shoulder when he pulled me out of bed and slammed me against the wall so hard my face had a bruise the next morning. I screamed as he forced himself on me, putting his weight against my dislocated shoulder. The only nice thing was that he was quick. He never lasted long and I learned quickly that he finished faster the more I screamed and cried. It was like he got off on it."

Rafael had tears forming in the corner of his eyes. "Do you want me to stop telling you this?" She asked. He closed his eyes to blink away the tears. "No. Keep going." "Are you sure? It doesn't get better." She said not making eye contact. "I need to know the truth." He sighed. Eleanor nodded that she understood and continued. "He was never gentle and from that night on he would have me whenever, wherever he wanted." She sighed. "It wasn't long before he grew bored of me. At first, I was relieved because that meant I was left alone. For two weeks, I was left alone. Then about a month before our raid was planned he threw a party. He made me get dressed up so that he could show me off to his friends. I guess the way they looked at me cured his boredom of me as he found a new way to entertain himself. He shoved me into the middle of the room were he had taken a small group of men he did dealings with and told them 'if you want her, go ahead and have her.' He watched as they circled. Slowly at first testing the sincerity of his offer and then..." She closed her eyes, tears falling freely at the memory. "Please don't make me tell you this part."

He pulled her tighter. "I'm sorry Elle. You don't have to tell me anymore." She cried in his arms. She hadn’t cried about what had happened since that night, only pushed it to the back of her mind and moved forward. It's what she had been trained to do, but somehow saying it out loud while safely wrapped in Rafi's arms, the tears flowed. After a moment she regained her composure and continued. "The next morning, I contacted, Todd, my handler, and told him what had happened. He coordinated with the CIA and NSA to move the raid up and get me out sooner. It was set for four days later. I laid low trying to stay out of the way and go unnoticed. It worked for a few days, but then Davor spotted his brother Henrik talking to me in the hall. Davor became unhinged, calling me a whore, accusing me of trying to sleep with his brother. He backhanded me across the face so hard he knocked me to the floor. He kicked me when I tried to get up and then continued to kick me over and over again. I coughed up blood but he didn't stop. I blacked out and came to in a hospital back in DC three weeks later. Todd told me I was barely alive when they found me."


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations at end of chapter.

"Sonny would you stop!" It had been a week since Eleanor had seen Henrik and things were settling back to normal. She had stopped by the station to have lunch with Sonny but he was being ridiculous. He looked like a scolded puppy. "I just can't believe you never told me." They had attracted the attention of Rollins and Amaro who were now staring, Rollins with her eyebrows raised. Liv exited her office to see what all the noise was. "Liv, can I barrow your office for a second?" Eleanor asked, not waiting for an answer as she dragged Sonny in behind her. "Uh, sure." Liv said as they passed looking back at Rollins and Amaro, slightly surprised.

"Look Sonny, stop being so childish. I couldn't tell you. It's not that I didn't want to tell you, I couldn't." She said. He frowned. "You told Barba." She rested her hand on Sonny's shoulder. "Sonny, you know I love you, and you know that I would have told you if I could have but you’re going to have to except that I may tell Rafael things I haven't told you." "I know," He sulked, "it's just hard to believe you were a..." He looked around and she put her finger to his lips before he could say anything else. "And this is why I couldn’t tell you." She said smiling. "Fine." He sighed. 

She got up to leave Liv's office when he added. "Should I be worried about you? You know because of that guy the other night." "I hope not." She said, opening the door to leave with Sonny right behind her. "Everything ok?" Liv asked. Eleanor smile at Sonny. "Yeah, were good. Anyone else want to join us for lunch?"

\---

Rafael and Eleanor met up with her parents to sample cakes for the wedding. Eleanor’s mother had made a lot of progress on the wedding planning but she was insistent they be involve in the decision on the cake. They arrived at the bakery at three. Her parents were already there sitting in front of a seemingly never ending table of miniature cakes. "Eleanor! Over here!" Her mother yelled and waved from across the tiny room as though they couldn't see them.

Her parents stood as they approached, giving them each a hug. "Hey mom. Dad." She said as they sat down. "You should see all the work you mother has done on your wedding Elle." Her dad said proudly. "I can't wait." Eleanor said smiling and putting her hand on Rafael's. "I can't thank you enough for doing this mom." "It's no trouble. You're our only daughter and you're unbelievably busy, it's the least I could do. Besides, I enjoy it and this type of thing was never your interest." She smiled. "Let me know if you need anything from me." Rafael said. Her mother smiled. "Actually, I need you to pick out a tux or a suit, whatever you and Elle would prefer, and I need the two of you to settle on a date." "I think I can help with part of that." Eleanor smiled. "What about August twenty-third? Is that enough time?" "That's perfect. I'll call the venue I found and book it." Her mother said happily.

Eleanor was just about to ask what venue she found when the bakery owner walked up and started explaining the different cakes they had sitting out. There were so many that were incredibly good that it was hard to choose. They finally settled on a red velvet cake for the brides cake and a chocolate espresso cake for the grooms.

The owner then showed them different designs they could create for each cake. Eleanor picked a cake that was sparsely covered in small wild flowers made of icing. The colors for the wedding were mainly lilac and gray but this cake had white icing with a bit of orange flowers in it in addition to purple and gray ones, with just a hint of green for the leaves. The grooms cake would have a similar flowers sparsely placed upon it. She left the size and number of tiers to her mother who had the guest list gripped in her hand.

After the tasting they went to dinner. "How can you two eat after all that cake?" Rafael asked her parents as they munched on chips and salsa before the food arrived. Her dad replied with his mouth full. "We didn't eat nearly as much cake as the two of you." "And they run about fifteen miles every morning." Eleanor smiled. "They can afford to eat a lot of food." "Fifteen miles?" Rafael questioned. "Yep. We decided to train for a marathon about ten years ago and just never stopped running." Her dad said.

"So mom," Eleanor said changing the subject, "what venue have you picked out?" Her mother sat up straighter as she began to go over the wedding plans she had made. "I found a gorgeous roof top that has beautiful views of the city. I found a wedding band that plays music like at the end of that one movie you like... Oh what is that movie..." "Dan in Real Life?" Eleanor ask. "Yes, that's it." She continued. "I found tables, and linens, and a flower shop that works with a group that does lighting for events. They are going to give the whole roof top a lit with string lights look." Eleanor smiled at her description. "I've found a caterer and there will be an open bar. Oh and I found a minister that needs to meet both of you." "Is there anything left?" Eleanor teased. "Lots, but nothing for you to worry about, except your dress. We have an appointment to look next Sunday at nine. Will that work for you?" She asked. "I think it'll have to." Eleanor smiled.

"I can't believe we’re getting married in six months." Eleanor said to Rafael as they left the restaurant. "I can't believe you mother has everything planned already." Rafael laughed.

\---

Eleanor had tried on five dresses but so far none of them seemed to be what she was looking for. They were a pain to get in and out of and she was ready to be done trying them on. "How about these?" Her mother said handing three more dresses to the consultant. After she left the dressing room Eleanor turn to the consultant, "I don't want to try all of those on." "Do you have a picture of a dress you like?" The consultant asked, seeing that she was getting frustrated and had failed to describe what she wanted very well when asked earlier. "Actually I do." She said pulling out her phone and flipping through the pictures she had screen grabbed earlier that week. "I can't believe I forgot about these." The consultant smiled. "I have something perfect for you." Then she left the dressing room.

When she returned she had a dress in her arms that wasn't quite white, an off white that was almost pink. It had three quarter length lace sleeves. The lace scooped along the front revealing only a hint of cleavage and the back was left open with the edges of the lacy detail softly blending in with her bare skin. The lace detailing covered the solid dress material heavily towards the top, becoming less dense as it reached the skirt. Eleanor smiled at herself for the first time when she looked in the mirror. "Thank god." She muttered. “I’m sorry?” The consultant was confused by her statement. Eleanor chuckled. “Sorry. I’m just relieved I don’t have to put another dress on. It’s perfect.” The consultant smiled. "Lets go show you mother then."

\---

Eleanor was distracted as she walked home from Starbucks. She had stopped there with her mother after dress shopping to finalize a few things. She still had thoughts of the wedding running through her mind when she felt something hard press into her back and a hand wrap tightly around her arm. "Get in the car, Izzy." She heard Davor's voice and was abruptly pulled back to reality. "I'm not Izzy." She said, trying to stay calm and buy time. "I don't care what you call yourself now. Get in the car." Davor growled, jabbing what she assumed was a gun into her back harder. She did as he said.

Davor had his gun pointed at her as she sat in the back of the limo next to him. His brother Henrik sat across from them, smiling. He handed the gun to his brother and wrapped his arm around her shoulder pulling her into him. "I missed you Izzy." "I'm not Izzy." She repeated. Davor pulled her over his knee, pulling her skirt up, running his finger along a scar on the back of her thigh he had given her. "Dobrodošli doma, Isabella." She pulled herself up and sat next to him again, looking at him with disdain. "I am not home." He smiled. "You may think that now, having played house with the lawyer, but you belong to me."

Eleanor let no emotions show but inside her head, millions of thoughts swirled around. How did he know she lived with Rafael? How often had he watched her? Watched them? What else did he know? She was pulled from her thoughts when she felt rope being wrapped around her wrist. "Sit tight my sweet Izzy, we have a stop to make." 

\---

Rafael had worked late and fallen asleep at his office. This hadn't happened since he had started living with Eleanor. She would always call and wake him, prompting him to come home. He checked his phone but there were no missed calls or text. He grabbed the spare suit he kept in his office, changed and got ready for the day. It was Monday and he was due at SVU to go over the details of a case that would be going to trial soon.

He left the DA's office with plenty of time so he decided to walk the three blocks to the precinct. As he walked down the sidewalk, a block from the station, he noticed an intimidating man with black hair and dark eyes walking toward him not moving out of the way. Barba couldn't help but observe that the man, despite his sinister appearance, was attractive. He stepped to the side to let the man pass but the man aligned himself up in Barba's new path. Frustrated Barba stopped to wait for the man to pass. But man didn't pass, instead he walked up to Barba and stopped, towering over the ADA. He looked Barba up and down and then spoke in the same accent Barba had heard the night they had gone out with Sonny and AJ. "I hope you enjoyed her while you could." 

"What?" Barba said, his mind trying to piece together what this man was taking about. "She was never yours to have." Davor said, leaning down so that only Barba could hear him. Barba glared at the man. "Where is she?" Davor smiled and turned to walk away. "She's always belonged to me." He said before disappearing into the crowded street.

Barba pulled out his phone to called Eleanor but she didn't answer. He ran into the precinct and straight to Sonny's desk. Sonny and the other detectives looked at Barba curiously, but he was already on the phone again. "AJ! Is Elle at work? Call Todd Price, Davor has her." Sonny stood up when he heard Barba's conversation. "What's going on?" Liv asked. Barba looked panicked. He couldn't speak due to the lump in is throat and images now complete with the mans face rushing through his head. He leaned on Carisi's desk, staring blankly. Barba's phone rang but he didn't move to answer it so Sonny did. "Hello, uh, Barba's phone." "Sonny?" AJ said on the other end. "AJ, What's going on?" Sonny asked. He looked at Barba adding, “Barba’s panicked.” "Bring him here, we'll fill you in when you get here." AJ said hanging up the phone.

\---

The car stopped, Davor got out dragging Eleanor by her bound wrist after him. They walked into a large house where a few people she recognized stared as he pulled her behind him. He walked her down a long hall and then down a set of stairs that were hidden behind a door. At the bottom of the stairs was a room completely empty except for a single chair with rope hanging above it and a table and stool in the corner. There were items on the table but she couldn't make out what they were.

"Sit." He demanded, pointing at the chair. She did as he said. He pulled her wrist above her head and attached them to the grappling hook hanging from the rope. He took her head in his hands and made her look around the room. "The walls, the ceiling, and the floor are all made of concrete. No one will hear you scream" He paused, before whispering into her ear, "and you will scream." He started to walk up the stairs and then turned. "I am being generous with the chair. If you try anything, I will take it away and hang you by your wrist with only your toes touching the ground." He then pointed to a camera mounted in the corner and aimed at her. "I'll be watching, my pet."

\---

AJ greeted them when they arrived at the FBI headquarters. She seemed a bit surprised to see the rest of the detectives there as well. “They insisted.” Carisi explained. AJ nodded and lead them to a conference room where Jeffries, Anderson, and Sam were waiting. Barba noticed a few unfamiliar faces as well. "Barba, detectives, I'd like you to meet CIA Agents Price, Jordan, and Carter." AJ said introducing everyone. "They are here to help us find Elle."

Agent Price stepped forward. "We worked with Elle on a classified case about five years ago. We can't talk about parts of the case that are still classified but we can help with finding Davor Mlakar." "Where do you even begin?" Barba asked meekly. "The Mlakar family has a handful of properties in New York and other major cities around the US, not to mention their homes in Slovenia and other countries. We have put an alert out on Davor and Henrik's passports and have sent Elle and their pictures to airports, but I doubt they will try to leave the states. Davor is too smart to take that risk. We have stationed agents at all known houses and properties." Price said. He turned to Barba. "We will find her."

\---

The door opened and she heard footsteps coming down the stairs. "I brought you something to eat." Davor said as he walked toward her. "I wouldn't starve my favorite girl, I'm not a complete monster." He held a sandwich up to her mouth and she took a bite. It was peanut butter and it made her already parched mouth yearn for water. "Are you thirsty?" He asked smiling. She nodded. "Do you love the lawyer, Eleanor." He said glancing at the ring on her finger. She had no idea how he found out her name. She hoped it was only because he had been watching her and not because he had learned anything about her work. "Eleanor." He said agitated. She looked up at him. "Answer me." He smiled. "Yes." She replied and he backhanded her across the face, causing her right cheek to throb.

He silently gave her water and then continued to feed her the sandwich allowing her to drink every few bites. After she had finished he took her face in his hand squeezing her cheeks together, thumb on one side, fingers on the other. He smiled when she didn't show any expression of pain on her face. "You've gotten tougher Eleanor. I'm going to have more fun with you this time." He said, letting her face go. He walked to the wall behind her and pulled on the rope attached to her wrist so that she was now standing on her toes. He anchored the rope to the wall and walked back over to stand in front of her. A sinister smile crossed his face before he punched her in the stomach, knocking the air out of her.

She gasped for air as he circled her. He pulled her head back by her hair and kissed her, biting her lip so hard he drew blood. He let go of her hair and stepped back looking her up and down. "You know what I haven't had in a long time, Eleanor?" He walked behind her, placing one hand on her waist and running the other between her thighs. "Please don't." She whispered. The hand that was previously on her waist grabbed her hair, pulling her head back so he could look at her eyes. "You've been a naughty girl, Eleanor, falling in love with someone else." He roughly kissed her and jammed his finger inside her. She yelped when he did, breaking contact from his kiss. "You never said you loved me." He said, pushing her head forward as he let go of her hair, moving his hand back down to her skirt. "No, please. Please don't." She begged, but there was no use. His hands were already pulling her underwear to the side and lifting her into a better position.

When he was through, he lowered her back to the chair to sit. He ran his hand along the side of her cheek pulling her face up to look at him. Her eyes were filled with tears but none were failing. "Do you think your precious lawyer is going to want you now?" "Yes." She hissed and he backhanded her across the face again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dobrodošli doma: Welcome home


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All translations will be revealed within the chapter.

Sonny and Barba were panicked. It had been five days and they were no closer to finding Eleanor. Hardly anyone had left FBI headquarters except to investigate a lead. They had tried to send Barba home but he refused and slept, when he could, on a couch in Jeffries office. They all took turns sleeping on that couch.

They were in the conference room looking at satellite images when Barba got the e-mail. It was addressed formally to ADA Rafael Barba and said, in case you're curious as to how Eleanor is. There was a link attached at the bottom. He forwarded the e-mail to AJ so she could pull it up on the monitor.

\---

Davor was pacing in front of Eleanor who, though sitting in the chair, was limp and only held upright by the rope above her. The last five days with him had left marks all over her body. Her clothing had been ripped off days ago, leaving her in just her bra and underwear. Davor like it that way, it allowed him to admire the pain he was causing. Eleanor lifted her head slightly when she heard a loud bing. Davor smiled at the sound and pulled her head back by her hair to look at the camera. "Smile Eleanor, your fiancé is watching."

Her eyes grew wide as she looked into the lens. Davor let go of her hair and yanked the rope pulling her to her feet. She screamed in pain as the ropes dug further into the existing wounds on her wrist. Davor stood in front of her. "Come on Eleanor, lets give him a show." She lifted her head, a sense of resolve flushing through her, her face relaxed and her voice became calm as she looked Davor directly in his eyes, "Ko pride čas za mene, da te ubijem bom imel nobenega kesanja." Davor smiled. "You are so much feistier than you used to be." He picked up a skinny rod and slapped it across her back, causing her to yelp in pain as it landed on cuts and bruises he had previously inflicted.

\---

Barba stared at the screen afraid of what he would see next but unable to peel his eyes away. "What did she just say?" Amaro asked when they heard her speak Slovenian. "Ko pride čas za mene, da te ubijem bom imel nobenega kesanja." Price repeated. "When it comes time for me to kill you, I will have no remorse." Liv looked at Agent Price. "Elle wasn't an FBI agent when she worked with you, was she?" "That is classified." Price responded. "What is important now is tracing this video feed."

\---

Davor had left Eleanor in the chair when he went upstairs. Barba was watching her on the monitor. She looked up at the camera. "Rafi, I love you." She spoke barely above a whisper. Barba ran is hand over her on the monitor, "I love you too." He said unable to stop the tears from falling. Everyone watched Barba, unable to say or do anything. They all jumped when they heard a door slam and someone stomping down the stairs.

Davor reached down and pulled her head back, glaring at her. "Why would you say that?" He growled. "Because I love him." She said looking intensely into his eyes. He narrowed his eyes and kicked the chair out from under her. She screamed when her weight pulled the ropes deeper into her wrist. "Why do you insist on pissing me off?" He said as he pulled her to her feet, anchoring the rope to the wall.

He walked to the table and picked up a stun gun, showing it to her when he walked back to stand in front of her. "Say you love me." He demanded. "I have never told you I loved you and I never will." She said. Davor pushed the stun gun into her stomach. She jerked and shook as it shocked her. He pulled back after a moment. "Say you love me." "No." She panted. He shocked her again this time he left it a little longer before pulling back. "Tell me you love me." "No." She croaked, gasping for air. He jammed the stun gun into her stomach again, longer yet. He watched her eyes flutter open and close but pulled it off her before she could pass out. "If you tell me you love me, I will stop." Eleanor hung there by her arms, no longer able to hold herself up by her legs. She managed to lift her wobbly head high enough to look at him. "I... love... Raf... a... el." She gasped. His eyes filled with hate. He pushed the stun gun into her back and held it there until she blacked out.

AJ pulled Barba away from the screen, forcing him to sit in a chair at the conference table. Agent Price sat down next to him. "She is strong and will survive this." Barba looked up at the CIA agent. "Tell me, will she barely be alive when you find her this time too?" Agent Price looked down and closed his eyes. "We didn’t know everything he was doing to her until it was too late. She didn't tell us the full extent of the abuse until the night he..." Price’s hands fidgeted in his lap. "Until the night he gave her to his friends." Barba said through clenched teeth.

Agent Price looked at Barba, tears in his eyes. "She didn't tell me. I was her handler. I was responsible for her safety. She was my friend. If I had known I would have pulled her out sooner. I tried. She wanted us to continue with the raid. She said she could make it four more days." Barba relaxed his glare. "Will we get her back?" "I'm doing the best I can." Agent Price said. “I do know that she’s not fighting, which means she’s saving her strength. The fact that she’s verbally bating him is her why of letting us know she’s got some fight left in her.” He added reassuringly. 

\---

The next morning Price walked into the conference room faster and more authoritative than normal. "The NSA traced the video to one of the Mlakar family homes in upstate New York. Jeffries gather your team, additional NSA and CIA agents will meet us there." "What about us?" Sonny asked. "I'm sorry but I need you to wait here." Price replied. Barba and the detectives were left in the conference room to watch Eleanor on the monitor.

\---

Eleanor had fallen asleep. It wasn't comfortable but she was so tired it didn't matter. The door slamming above woke her. "Eleanor, it's play time." Davor sang as he drew closer to her. "I think I want to put on a different kind of show today. One that shows your fiancé just what kind of girl you really are." He yanked her to her feet not noticing he left some slack in the rope. "What do you say Elle? Do you want me to show him how you like it? How to make you scream?" He wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and bit down hard on her neck. She grimaced when his teeth broke skin. "Are you sure you want him to see how quick you are?" She asked coldly. He punched her in the back and she gasped for air. He started to grab at her panties but she kicked a fought back, desperately not wanting Rafael to see this man rape her.

Davor paused when he heard screaming and the popping of guns coming from upstairs giving Eleanor the opportunity to wrap her arm around his neck. She squeezed with every ounce of strength she had left. He gasped for air and flailed his arms trying to pull her off of him. She watched him for a moment before saying, "Nikoli nisem pripadal vas," His eyes went wide as he tried to breath. "ne v sloveniji, ne zdaj, nikoli. Vedno si bil moj znak." His lips moved to say something but nothing came out. She felt him go limp in her arms but didn't lessen her grip knowing he had only passed out.

"Elle!" Agent Price yelled as he ran down the stairs. Eleanor dropped Davor to the ground so Price could untie her. "Is he dead?" He asked. "No." She said emotionless. "Give me your gun." "What? Elle. You can't shoot him while he's laying unconscious on the floor." He said. "I know." She said holding out her hand for his gun, still no expression on her face. "I can wait." Agent Price leaned in close and whispered so that the camera couldn't pick it up. "Rafael and some detectives are watching." Gesturing to the camera with his eyes.

Eleanor walked over to the chair she had sat in so many times and picked it up. She carried it and stood under the camera. Grabbing the chair by its legs she swung the back toward the camera, knocking it from the ceiling so that it hung where she could reach it. She then detached the cable and powered it off. "Not anymore." She said walking back over to Price, her hand extended. "Are you sure?" Price asked, handing her his gun. "Yes." Eleanor said flatly, taking the gun and hobbling to the bottom steps to sit. Price joined her, he typed something on his phone before putting it away. "Did you have your techs erase the last few minutes of the video feed?" She asked. "The feed will be cut right as I enter the room, while you're still tied up." He said, both of them watching Davor. "Rafael and the others will know." "Knowing and seeing are two very different realities." Eleanor said calmly as she stared at Davor, waiting for him to wake.

\---

"What happened to the feed?" Barba asked frantically. "I'm pretty sure your girlfriend just knocked the camera off the ceiling." Rollins said, almost sounding impressed. Sonny looked at the other detectives. "She’s not really going to kill him? Is she?" They all looked at each other but remained quite. Barba broke the silence. "You don't know everything." "I know I don't. I apparently can't know but you can. You get know everything about her and understand what is happening right now, but try to remember I don't." Sonny barked. Barba glared at Sonny. "You think I understand why this happened, why some sick sociopath thinks he has some claim on Elle. All I meant was I could understand why she might want to kill him." Sonny thought back to the night they met Henrik on the street and the story Eleanor told AJ about her mission, how afraid she had seemed. "I don't want to know the details do I?" "No." Barba said, tears starting to form in the corners of his eyes.

Terry burst into the conference room. "I just got a message from Agent Price. What was the last thing you saw on the video feed?" "What's the last thing you need us to have seen?" Amaro asked. Terry smiled at her answer. "Agent Price coming downstairs and Elle still tied up." "That's the last thing I saw." Fin said looking around. "Me too." Liv said. Everyone nodded in agreement. "Perfect." Terry said leaving the room.

\---

Price and Eleanor had sat in silence for a while when Davor started to stir. He looked around, slightly disorientated and then stood up. He saw them sitting at the bottom of the stairs, his eyes locked on Eleanor. "You bitch." He said. She stood up and cocked her head to the side slightly. "Such crude words for someone who isn't leaving this room." "You wont kill me. You're American. You think everybody can be rehabilitated. You'll arrest me and I'll be extradited to Slovenia where I'll be out in six months." He scoffed walking closer to them. "See that's where you're wrong, Davor." Eleanor expressed no affect, guilt or otherwise as she spoke. "Sometimes we just cover up the truth making it look like we did the right thing. The bad guy dies, the file gets sealed. No one looks into it too hard." He stoped a few feet from them. His eyes widen as she trained the gun on him emptying it into his chest, still clicking even though there were no more bullets. Price put a hand gently on her shoulder, lowering her arm holding the gun with the other. "It's over." He said softly.

NSA and CIA agents headed down the stairs. "Is everything ok?" Agent Carter asked. "Yes." Eleanor said shaking and handing him the gun. "I cut off Davor's oxygen, causing him to lose consciousness when I heard gunshots. Price untied me when he found me but as we started to leave Davor came to and ran up behind us. I grabbed Price's gun and shot him." Carter looked at Davor and then Eleanor. "Six times?" Eleanor looked at the area of the room she had been kept. At her blood on the ground. She then glanced down at the wounds covering her body and finally up at Carter. "I may have over compensated." Carter nodded at her. "Ok guys, looks like a clean shoot, lets get Elle to a hospital and this crime scene wrapped up." Price helped her up the stairs and out of the house. He drove her to a hospital equipped to handle the discretion of CIA agents. Once she was being examined by a doctor he called AJ to let her know where they were so she could call Barba.

\---

Barba was pacing in the waiting room having not been allowed to see Eleanor yet. Price had left but Sonny, and the others, were in the waiting room as well. Price had assured them that she would be fine. "You can go in now." A nurse said putting her hand on Barba's arm. Barba looked at Sonny. "Do you want to come too?" Sonny nodded and they both disappeared down the hall.

Eleanor smiled as they entered the her hospital room. "My two favorite guys." She had been cleaned and bandaged up but you could still see bruising on her face and exposed skin that wasn't covered by the hospital gown. "Elle..." Barba whispered when he saw her. "Don't do that." She said calmly. "Don’t treat me differently." He forced a smiled. "Ok. How do you feel?" He knew she would deal with things in a way that worked for her. He trusted her to do that. "Terrible." She winced when she laughed.

"You need to process this Elle." Sonny said trying to get her to take it more seriously. “I will Sonny. I already have an appointment set up with psych.” She said dismissively, not wanting to dwell. “But Ellie...” Sonny started but was interrupted. “I asked you not to call me that.” She snapped. “I’m sorry Elle. It was out of habit. It’s what I called you...” She interrupted him again. “Until I asked you not to anymore. Five years ago I asked you not to call me that.” “I know because of your ex. I remember. I really am sorry.” Sonny said. “Not because of an ex Sonny.” She hissed. “But you said...” He started but she interrupted yet again. “It sounds too much like Izzy. I had everyone I love stop calling me that because I couldn’t stand to hear it anymore.” Her tone was softer now. Sonny’s placed his hand on hers. She looked up at him before speaking again. “I will deal with what happened. What I went through five years ago was so much worse than this. I’m optimistic because I’ve survived worse, because I survived that. I don’t say this because I feel invincible but because I know how much worse it could have been.” She squeezed his hand and smiled. “It’s over.”

"What about Davor's family. Should we be worried about them coming after you?" Barba asked. "No." She smirked. "The NSA found crates of weapons in the house so the whole family is going away for the crimes they should have gone away for five years ago." He sighed with relief and then asked. "What did you say to him in Slovenian while you were choking him?" A satisfied smile spread across her face. "I never belonged to you, not in Slovenia, not now, not ever. You were always my mark."

Before Sonny or Barba could say anything else the doctor entered the room. "Ok Elle, we've got you patched up. You have three broken ribs so you're going to have to take it easy for a while." "Can you tell her that means no four am workouts?" Barba interrupted. The doctor smiled. "No four am workouts at least for the next six weeks. I’ll send your medical record over to your on site doctor at the FBI so they can monitor your recovery." "Thanks, does that mean I can leave?" She asked. “Let’s see...” He flipped through her chart. “Just one last thing, we ran the rape kit and everything came back clear. I'll send the nurse in with your discharge paperwork shortly." He smiled and left the room. "Rape kit?" Rafael asked softly. "It's just protocol." She said looking away. "No it's not." Sonny said looking at her with sad eyes. "It only happened once. The first night. Before he sent you the video feed." She was looking at the sheets fiddling with them. "I didn't want you to... to think of me differently." Barba sat on the bed and gently wrapped his arms around her. "Nothing will ever make me think of you differently. I love you." She smiled softly and nestled closer to him.


	12. Chapter 12

In the weeks following the incident with Davor, Rafael and Eleanor both took a short leave of absents from work. Three weeks to spend together while she recovered from her injuries. They never left the apartment, ordering room service and binge watching movies that Rafael had never seen but Eleanor could quote in her sleep. She was cuddled on the couch next to Rafael when he started to get up to go to the restroom. She flinched at the unexpected movement. "Are you ok? I didn't even think." He asked, stopping his movement and looking at her. "Yeah." She said, slowly pulling herself upright so he could easily get up. "I didn't expect you to get up and it just caught me off guard." This explanation didn't make Barba feel better, how many times had she been in pain and simply didn't let it show. 

When he returned from the restroom he sat down and took her hands in his. "Elle." She looked at him funny, "Yes Rafael." "I know that there will always be things in your past that I can't know." She shifted slightly, not knowing where he was going with this. "I just want you to know that I'm ok with that. You're the smartest, most amazing person I have ever met and on top of that you have these abilities, none of which you would have without your past experiences, good and bad. I also want you to know that if you need to be vulnerable you can." She leaned forward and kissed him. "Thank you, Rafi." She whispered. He pressed his cheek to hers. "I love you, Elle." "I love you too, Rafael Barba." She said, humored at the smile that crossed his lips when she said his full name. 

\---

They had decided to invite Sonny and the other detectives over for dinner. It was their last weekend of leave and would be returning to work on Monday. Rafael wasn't fighting her return but only because he knew she would be restricted to a desk until the onsite doctor released her. Sonny and AJ were the first to arrive. "I thought we were having dinner?" Sonny asked suspiciously looking at the spotless kitchen. "We are." Eleanor assured him. "We brought a bottle of wine." AJ said handing it to her. "Thanks." She said, taking it from her and setting it on the counter. 

There was a knock at the door and Rafael went to let in Rollins and Amaro. Sonny headed over to say hi giving Eleanor an opportunity to talk to AJ. "So, how are things going with you and Sonny?" She smiled. "Pretty good actually." She grinned. "Even with both of our schedules being crazy, we've managed to see each other at least twice a week since you set us up. The only time we didn't go out was when you were missing, but even then we saw each other everyday because we were all working on finding you. He really cares for you, you know." There was a slight hint of jealousy in her voice at the last bit. Eleanor smiled and rested her hand on AJ’s arm. "I care for him too, like a brother. That's the way it's always been between us." "So you guys never dated?" She asked. "Never." Eleanor smiled reassuringly as they went to go join the others in the living room.

Rollins was looking around the apartment. "This isn't really what I expected Barba's place to look like." "That's because he moved in with me and most of the furniture in here is mine. Rafael's place looked like he copied a picture out of a Restoration Hardware catalog." Eleanor smiled, slightly squeezing Barba in a side hug. He looked slightly offended. "And what's wrong with that?" "Nothing." She smiled. Eleanor went to answer the door this time, letting Liv and Fin in. "Your place is nice." Liv said, handing her another bottle of wine. "Thanks." She said. "Oh I have one of those too."Rollins said pulling a bottle out of her large purse and following Eleanor to the counter to set it down with the others.

Fin was looking at the kitchen with the same suspicious look Sonny had earlier. "What are we having for dinner?" Eleanor smiled while pulling out enough wine glasses for everyone and opening one of the bottles. "Rafi refused to let me cook so we are going to order food from the hotel restaurant and they are going to bring it up. The only thing he would let me do was set the table." Barba passed out menus to everyone. "Order anything you like. We've already given the restaurant a heads up and they said they could have the food up thirty minutes after we order." Barba made a list of everyone's dinner choice and then excused himself to call it in.

"So where is this table you set?" Sonny asked. Eleanor walked over to open the curtains that were covering the large picture window in their living room. The window exposed a terrace with an outdoor table large enough to seat everyone. There were white string lights draped along the ceiling created by the patio above and more along the railings. "I'm going a little stir crazy not working." She smiled. "Elle, it's only been three weeks. You need to let yourself heal, not climb on laters hanging lights." Sonny scolded. "That's exactly what I told her." Barba said, reentering the room. "That's why she made me do it." Liv, Rollins, and AJ chuckled. 

The food arrived as promised and they sat out on the terrace to eat. "Are you ready to get back to work on Monday, Elle?" AJ asked. "More than ready. I've enjoyed having Rafael to myself these last three weeks but we both are ready to get back to work and leave the apartment." She said squeezing Barba's hand. "Glad to hear. We've missed having you around." AJ said. "We're ready to have you back too Barba." Liv smiled. "You should see the guy they sent to replace you.” "Good to know I’m missed." Barba smirked. "Barba, if you moved in with Elle, what happened to your old furniture?" Rollins asked. "Most of it's in storage at the moment. Some is staged in my old place while it's being shown. We've got our eye on a larger place in this building so hopefully mine sells soon." Barba replied. "How fast do units in your building go?" Amaro asked. "Pretty quickly." Eleanor replied. "Someone made an offer earlier this week. He countered so we are just waiting to see what they decide." "That's exciting." Sonny said. "How big is the place you guys are looking at here?" Rollins asked. "It's a two story unit with the main living, office, and master suite on the lower level and a library, family room, and three bedrooms on the upper level." Eleanor said. "We have first choice at it since we already live in the building but we have to decide by the end of next week so I'm hoping the offer on Rafi's place goes through."

Barba's looked around the table as his phone rang from the other room. "Hmmm, Everyone who normally calls me at inopportune times is sitting in front of me." He said with a smile. "Funny." Liv said as he got up to answer it. "That's a lot of space for two people." Rollins said. Sonny smiled. "Yeah but Elle's always wanted a library." "That is true." Eleanor smiled. Barba returned with a smile on his face. "That was the realtor, they excepted our counter. We can put an offer in on the unit here as early as Monday." "Really!" Eleanor said jumping out of her chair, grimacing as she ran to hug Rafael. He slowed her before she reached him and gently wrapped his arms around her, both humored and annoyed by her lack of concern for her own pain in her excitement. "Really." He smiled before pulling her to his lips softly.

\---

Eleanor had been back at work for nearly two weeks but still had not been released from desk duty and was not happy about it. She felt fine. Her team was in Montana working a case and she was stuck watching a bar slowly expand across her computer as it chugged through formulas. The only thing she even remotely enjoyed about being stuck at the office was that she was getting to help out on other cases.

Rafael knew that she was frustrated being stuck at her desk and, in her opinion at least, ‘barely’ being allowed to workout or train so he decided to take her out to dinner and a show. "What do you say?" He asked with sweetest smile on his face. "We can go to Sylvia's and then to see any show you want." Eleanor smiled. It was hard to stay irritated when he was being so sweet. Especially since she wasn't irritated at him. "That sounds nice." She didn't know how to tell him that another reason she was on edge was that we hadn't done anything more than cuddle and kiss in a little over a month. She knew he was trying to respect her and give her time to heal from what had happened but she ached for him and for things to be the way they had been when they could barely keep their hands off each other. When he wanted her so badly he would take her at his desk or in an empty room at his friends party.

When Friday finally arrived, Eleanor left work a little early so that she could shower and get herself dressed up for the evening. Rafael arrived home around six to get ready and he still managed to finish before her. He was waiting in the living room when she emerged in a burgundy cocktail dress. The dress was sleeveless with a high neck and narrow v cut down the front, the skirt reaching mid thigh. She paired it with a pair of burgundy heels, her diamond earrings, and a simple silver bracelet. Her hair was now just past her shoulder blades and she had styled it in long loose curls.

"Wow!" Rafael said, his eyes lighting up when she entered the room. "You look..." "Healed." She smiled. He didn't take his eyes off her as he walked over and wrapped his arms around her. "Better than healed. You look beautiful." She returned his embrace, running her hand into his hair at the base of his head. She gently brushed her lips over his barely making contact. "Why don't we skip the dinner and theater, and just stay in tonight." She said as she began to move her other hand toward his belt, completing the contact between their lips. He moaned softly before pulling back. "Elle..." She pouted playfully, not wanting him to know how much it hurt that he didn't want her. Not wanting to believe that Davor was right and that he wouldn't want her anymore. Not wanting to tell Rafael how much it bothered her that someone else was the last person to be inside her. How would that help. It would just serve as a reminder of what Davor had done and turn him off from her even more. Rafael pulled her tight to his chest, his arms wrapping around her like he knew she was thinking more than her playful pout suggested. "Maybe later... How are your ribs?" She pulled back and smiled at him. "They don't hurt at all."

\---

They set in silence next to each other on the ride back to their apartment. Rafael had her hand in his. Not a word was spoken as they rode the elevator and walked down the hall. Once in the apartment, Rafael stopped. "Elle?" She closed her eyes for a second before turning to look at him. "Yes." He walked closer to her and wrapped his arms around her waist pulling her into him. He leaned in and kissed her passionately. She moaned at the embrace she had been longing for. His kisses moved from her lips to her neck and her heart began to race. "I want you, Rafi." She whispered in his ear.

He picked her up, wrapping her legs around his waist, and carried her to the bedroom. Her lips finding their way to his neck as he walked. He put her down once they got in the room and looked at her with a worried expression on his face. "I don't want to hurt you." She smiled, understanding for the first time that his avoidance of physical affection had only to due with her injuries and mental state but nothing more. "I promise I feel fine." He stepped closer to her and unzipped the back of her dress. "I'm still going to be gentle." He whispered as the dress fell to the floor. She reached down to unfasten his pants, winking at him. "I might like that."

He continued to kiss her as she undressed him, only breaking contact when clothing interfered. Once they were both completely exposed he walked them to the bed and laid back allowing her to climb on top. He pulled her down to him, not wanting to stop kissing her. She felt him harden and guided him in. She moved on top of him as they kissed. They both moaned, savoring the moment, having both missed this contact desperately. "Rafi?" She whispered. "Yes." He moaned. "I'm not going to be gentle." She said as she sat up to ride him. He moved his hands to her waist and moaned louder as she began to move faster. His thumb moved to her clit causing her to arch her back. She moaned loudly in need of release. He watched her come, then he rolled her beneath him and continued to thrust until he released as well.

They laid there, him on top of her, both of them panting, her arms wrapped around him. "I love you, Elle." He said not moving from where he laid. "I love you too, Rafael." She smiled feeling complete again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m running out of steam on this work so I may toy with some other ideas and revisit this again later.


End file.
